Human
by Bun-Bun.Kaella
Summary: Hanzo has a lot riding on his shoulders, with his little brother gone most days and he the heir to the Shimada Clan he must always remain vigilant, ready to take on any task and deal with any situation with grace, and precision. He had no room in his life for frivolous adventures. But perhaps a necessary adventure would sooth his aching soul?
1. Human

A/N: Wowie! Has it been a while or has it been a while? I'm back and I'm here with new fandoms!

To put it shortly, I completely lost my motivation for writing. Had some family issues that I am still struggling with, and I am a awful writer but I'M TRYING -determined face-

Welp, without further ado, let's get started!

Another blasted day of sifting through incoming shipments in the Warehouse would surely drive Hanzo insane. He waved his hand in approval to a question from one his men that he didn't quite hear, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose in irritation. The men looked at each other for a moment, then shrugged, deciding it wouldn't be them who was in trouble if something went wrong.

He had been here for weeks, his father had ordered him on this demeaning and mundane task after a failed business trade with the Okozaka clan. As soon as the Okozaka's opened fire upon Hanzo and his men he knew the failure would undoubtedly be blamed on him, his father was not one for reason, preferring to take his anger out on whatever he deemed suitable. This way of thinking made him a force to be reckoned with, but those serving him were constantly ducking and running for cover when the older man lost his temper.

He shook his raven ponytail off of his shoulder, glancing at the tattoo on his arm causing a scowl to form on his face. Hanzo never asked for the responsibility of these damned creatures, he never asked to be born first and forced into carrying the responsibility of becoming the next Shimada clan leader. He shook his head of the angry thoughts, grousing about it would do no good.

He had abandoned his former orange and white outfit in favor of a blue and black kyudo-gi. Feeling more comfortable and flexible with the left half of his body free to move without the constraint of his previous armor. Showing off his tattoo for all of Hanamura to see, it was threatening, warding off any interaction with any of the local populace, but he supposed that was mostly due to his family name.

"Master Hanzo."

Hanzo pulled himself out of his thoughts, turning to face one of his men who bowed deeply and Hanzo realized could never remember their names. "Yes?"

The man straightened to his full height. "We have just received an rather... Unusual shipment from the Okozaka Clan. They claim this is an apology for their impudence."

The young Shimada raised an eyebrow at this. The Okozaka's apologizing? This was most definitely a trap, one did not carelessly attack the Shimada's and expect a flimsy apology laden with material riches to smooth over their indiscretion. "Bring it to me."

The man nodded, bowing again and hurrying off to bring whatever it was that the Okozaka's believed could return them to his father's good graces.

Hanzo only waited a few moments before five or so men rolled in a very large crate. Hanzo stood before it with his arms crossed over his chest, looking the wooden box over. He noticed a note nailed to the front and ripped it down. In Japanese characters it read 'Do not release her unless you wish total destruction.'

He raised a brow at the foreboding note, his curiosity piqued. He returned his gaze to the container. "Open it."

His men made quick work of the crate, using pry bars to dismantle it.

Hanzo stood, mouth agape. There was a tank, a cylindrical tank with the front a pane of glass to see inside. A girl was suspended in the liquid with tubes attached to her body and chains around her wrists and ankles, her eyes were closed and she had no air mask, Hanzo would have surmised that she were dead if it weren't for the gills fluttering open and closed on either side of her neck.

Closing his mouth he took a step closer to examine her, choosing to ignore the impossible presence of _gills_. Thankful the Okozaka's had the presence of mind to at least cover her chest and waist, but it did not conceal her hourglass figure, however short she may be. He realized with a start that she looked as though she could not be older than twenty, equal to his own age.

He scowled, what was a girl such as this doing in dealing with the Okozaka Clan? True, the Shimada were not much better in comparison; but the Okozaka Clan had made their name from their popular brothels, which often catered to its patrons with young girls that could hardly be considered of consenting age.

She had pale white skin, and black hair that floated around her hips, her bangs that appeared to sweep across the left side of her round face covered some of the freckles across her nose and cheeks. He glanced down at her hands and found what he believed to be black claws, he shrugged, some were known to grow their nails in order to sharpen, and apply them to hand-to-hand combat, even if the idea that a woman could be a fighter of any sort was preposterous.

Shaking his head he noticed a small necklace floating around her neckline. It was a very small pendant, on a delicate silver chain, but it was beautiful, nonetheless. Two rows of diamonds swooped below a teardrop shaped aquamarine jewel, a rarity of precious gems in Japan. Why any woman would wear such an elegant thing, especially in her apparent _situation_ was beyond Hanzo. Perhaps the Okozaka had meant for the pendant to be their true apology and the girl to be a sort of collateral?

Hanzo scoffed, to even attempt to apologize one would have to offer significantly more in compensation for their treachery than a necklace and some girl.

"Did the Okozaka's leave any other note than the one on the crate?" He directed the question to the man standing to his right without turning his head from the woman in front of him. The henchman gave a negative response and Hanzo growled in frustration.

Well, there was only one way he would find out just what this girl was.

"Ready your weapons." He ordered them. The sound of machine guns being raised and aimed directly at the tank comforted him as he looked over the panel next to the glass, finding the button he was looking for he tapped it delicately and moved to stand in front of the glass patiently.

Nothing happened.

Hanzo's brow furrowed in confusion and irritation. The Okozaka's would be receiving a response very soon. Sending a neighboring Clan a useless pile of rubbish was a grave insult, it showed you cared not for the outcome of the recipient. There were three kinds of gifts in Hanzo's book, a useful one that would benefit the recipient, showing goodwill and hopes for their continued existence. A harmful one that would hinder the recipient, causing damage and declaring war in effort to claim their resources, and a useless one, it cut off all ties, most would assume it to be Neutral but Hanzo knew better. The sender cared not for their destruction or their victory, they would remove themselves completely. Not taking a side was as low as one could sink.

Just has he was about to order his men to discard of the useless trinket, the girl snapped her eyes open, revealing blue orbs with gray weaving in and out like a spider who weaved two colors into her web. She looked down at the man, who returned her gaze with skepticism.

She seemed to be coming to her senses, looking around for a moment, before the chains around her wrists and ankles released. Odd, he noted with a glance at the control panel, he had not initiated the release of her restraints yet.

The girl held the small pendant in her palm, slowly, as she examined the jewel, once she had seemed to realize what she was looking for a malicious smirk formed across her lips. Her gaze switched from the pendant to Hanzo's and he realized with a jolt of fear that the glass was cracking at an alarming rate.

He didn't have time to get out of the way before the blue liquid spilled out.

It most definitely was _not_ water, Hanzo thought with a disgusted feeling worming through his gut. The liquid felt thick and sticky as he was sent tumbling back, he groaned and shook his head, sitting up once he had come to a stop. He scowled, looking at the girl looming over him with a dangerous smirk. "Well, well, look at what I've gotten my hands on. A _dragon wielder_..."

He voice was smooth, sultry, and it made his skin crawl. She also spoke English instead of Japanese.

"Master Hanzo!" His men were shouting, rushing to help their clan leaders son from where he had fallen a few meters from the tank.

The girl hissed, glancing back to the men scurrying over to them. Hanzo watched with fascination as her gills sank back into her flesh as if they were never there. He glanced up to her face and saw a fang peeking out from her lip as she bared her teeth. Hanzo returned his features to a scowl as she turned back to face him. "Sorry, hot shot, gotta bounce!"

She laughed and brought her legs beneath her in preparation to jump. Hanzo panicked and reached up to grab something as she leaped away, that something ended up being the pendant and he heard a small clinking sound as the chain snapped as well as an angry screech from her.

The pendant in his hand felt warm, and he turned to crouch on one knee, drawing his bow from its place on his back and knocking an arrow into position. The girl landed a few feet away with her heels pressed together and her hands between her knees, she looked at him with pure, seething hatred.

"Give it back!" She cried, standing to her full height but refusing to move an inch. He guessed that she was wary of the guns trained on her as well as his own arrow from the glances she was casting around the room.

"Who are you? Why were you sent to us by the Okozaka's?" He voice was sharp and demanding, he was no longer in the mood for debilitation. He had longed for some form of excitement since he had been assigned to this cursed place.

She merely scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning on the crate next to her; she leveled him with a condescending look. "Name's Kaella, and hell if I know. I went to bed and woke up here." Her responses were short and curt, and Hanzo noticed she had a trace of a southern accent in the way she drawled on with some of her words, he also noticed she didn't bother speaking Japanese, which didn't surprise him considering she wasn't from Hanamura, judging from her accent.

Though, he was confused as to why she would so easily give up the information without a fight, but he didn't ask her directly, she was outnumbered and had no weapons to speak of.

"Anyways, lovely meeting with you boys. But, y'see, this is all one big misunderstanding." She straightened, taking a step forward and holding her hands up in innocence, earning a growled warning from one of the men and Hanzo's arrow to land directly in front of her foot.

She groaned, letting her hands drop to place one on her hip then leaned her head back slightly and to the side so she could glare at the man who'd spoken. "I suggest you shut that pretty little mouth of yours before you loose your tongue, butch." She hissed, a dangerous lilt to her voice. Why had she sent the threat to the man that had simply spoken instead of the one who nearly shot her foot off with an arrow?

The man who had spoken, although Hanzo did not know his name, was well know for his sarcasm. Hanzo cursed him now and made a mental note to speak with his father later about the man's poor judgement.

The suited man scoffed, a devilish smirk on his lips. He looked her up and down and raised his voice. "Hey, girly. I got something for _your_ pretty little mouth to wrap around!" He made a gyrating motion, earning a few scattered chuckles.

The girl, apparently called Kaella, grinned, it looked contorted and maniacal. "I was so hoping you'd be like that, I've been awful bored as of late!" Hanzo barely saw her bend her knees before she was sailing through the air towards the man that had dared insult her. One foot landing on the gun, causing the rounds to empty into the floor, while the other she placed on his throat and shoved him to the floor. She cackled madly, arms spread out for balance like she was surfing on a coast somewhere.

"Stop!" Hanzo shouted, aiming another arrow at her head. He was just about to let the arrow fly when saw her freeze, and look back at him with a scowl, before stepped off of the man who scrambled to his feet, seething with rage.

"Why you little-" "Enough!" Hanzo cut the infuriated man off and barked and order to step away and keep their mouths shut. The men listened, but not without casting looks of pure rage at the smirking girl. Hanzo her a small clinking sound but thought nothing of it as he adjusted his grip on his bow while moving to stand at his full height.

She put both hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out. Throwing her head back in laughter before returning her gaze back to Hanzo.

She was insane, this _creature_ , was absolutely mentally unstable Hanzo decided. Why exactly hadn't he killed her yet?

Oh, right. Information.

"Girl." He addressed her.

She shot him a look of anger, "My name is-"

"You will remain still until suitable bindings are place upon you." He interrupted, leaving little room for debate.

She sucked air through her teeth before shaking her head, giving up the act of innocence. "Sorry, look y'all are fun and all but I've been looking forward to this day for a long time." There was an underlying threat at the end of her sentence as she took a couple of intimidating steps towards him.

Hanzo decided he'd had enough of her insolent behavior. He let his arrow fly into her shoulder without a second thought, his aim was unmatched after all and he hit his mark. The damage to her shoulder would not be permanent, she would heal in a few weeks with no more than a scar as a reminder.

She howled in pain, dropping to her knees and cradling her arm to her stomach. Tears pooled in her eyes as she looked at the wound in shock, she sniffled, muttering something he couldn't hear before looking at him again, her teeth bared.

Hanzo was taken aback for a moment by the fires blazing in her eyes, if looks could kill, he would be dead a thousand times over. She looked at him as though he had stolen something exceedingly precious from her and he wondered for a moment what she was so infuriated for.

He didn't wonder very long as she stood shaking slightly, which forced his attention to refocus on her and he almost wished he hadn't, she screamed so loud Hanzo swore all of Japan could hear her rage. "You filth! You've taken everything from me! You disgusting, fiendish, impudent little whelp!"

Hanzo barked out an order and his men rushed forward to restrain her. He slung his bow onto his back and ordered for her to be taken to a cell befitting a female prisoner after giving her a change of clothes. Hanzo spared a final glance at the girl before he left to tell his father of what had happened. Her eyes were still locked on him, she was silent but he could see she was seething beneath the surface.

He moved to leave, stopping however, when he felt something beneath his boot. He looked down to discover he had dropped the pendant he yanked from the girls neck. Shrugging he stowed it in his sleeve to show to his father later.

 **A/N:**

 **YAAAAYYYYYYYY I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OVERWATCH SOOOOO MUCH.**

 **I really wanted to do a McCree/Hanzo fic, but I can't capture personalities as well as I'd like, so we're settling for an honorable, dignified Hanzo with a sassy, crazy person OC :D**

 **-bows- Thank you for reading, please leave a review!**


	2. Akarai

"Hanzo, good. I had intended to send for you soon." Hanzo sat on his knees in front of his father with his head bowed. "How are matters within the eastern warehouse?" Sojiro questioned, not bothering to turn from the reports in his hand to ask his son about the affairs in the warehouse he knew was the safest.

Hanzo knew his father was merely making small talk, an initial question to feign interest in what his son was doing. The true matter would have to wait until Hanzo told him of what had happened in the warehouse earlier in the evening.

"You honestly think that this shit can hold me?" Kaella spat glaring at Hanzo as he watched the guards place the chains around her wrists and ankles with an audible clack. She looked down at her plain yukata with obvious disdain. "I will never enjoy wearing this constricting outfit. Didn't you have anything more flexible?"

"You are a small girl, of course they can." He responded to her first question and scowled at her foul language. "A woman in your position should not speak with such vulgarity, or request for anything more than what is given to her." He told her before turning to leave the cell.

She audibly scoffed behind him, muttering something in a language he did not recognize. This piqued his interest, glancing behind him to ask her what language she had spoken.

She shot him a withering stare. "This super old language called nonnaya' business!" He rolled his eyes at her sarcastic reply and left the cell.

After double checking to ensure that the insane creature, Kaella, had been properly restrained and dressed Hanzo went straight to his father to discuss what had been sent to the family.

Hanzo clenched his fists resting on his knees, he felt a distinctive pull in his soul that he could not understand and was desperate for any answers his father could give him. "Business is going well, however we received a.. Interesting package from the Okozaka's. They claimed it was an apology for betraying our trust."

This piqued Sojiro's interest, "oh? What did they send?" He set the reports down and faced his son fully.

Hanzo reached into his sleeve and pulled out the pendant, wincing when he felt a twinge in his soul. "This necklace was around the neck of a girl, the same age as I. She-"

"It can't be.." Hanzo was cut off as his father stared wide eyed at the small jewel hanging from Hanzo's hand. The archer had to suppress the urge to raise his eyebrow in question, instead setting the necklace in his fathers outstretched hand.

Sojiro examined the beautiful pendant for a moment, before setting it on his desk and reaching for a small knife. Hanzo's eyes widened as he brought the knife down on the small jewel harshly.

Unimaginable pain surged through his chest, he clenched his chest and grunted, placing a hand on the ground to keep himself upright. Sojiro growled in front of him and Hanzo looked up to see not a single scratch had been made on the pendant.

The clan leader looked at his son, Hanzo's ragged breathing telling him all he needed to know. "Take me to her."

"Sojiro! It hasn't been nearly long enough." Kaella smirked, standing and crossing her arms over her chest. Hanzo thought for sure his father would strike her from the malice flowing through her words but Sojiro merely sighed, handing the necklace to Hanzo.

"Hanzo, ordered her to never bring harm upon yourself." Hanzo was confused but did as his father had instructed, Kaella rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow. Her chains dropped from her arms and clicked open from her ankles, she stretched and yawned while Hanzo dropped into a defensive position.

"So it is true, it has been a while Kaella. What on Earth brings you to Japan?" His father seemed unbothered by her miraculous freedom from her restraints, merely standing with his arms folded into his sleeves. His words flowed easily into English and Hanzo could have sworn they held a certain fondness, slowly he relaxed into a normal stance with his arms crossed, still suspicious of the girl in front of him.

"Got bored, y'all are usually fightin' each other anyways. Especially among you crimelords."

"If you wished for conflict you should have gone to America."

"Nah, would've wiped the whole damn nation off the face of planet. They're always pissin' me off." She responded cooly, she made no move to escape or attack, she merely looked bored.

Hanzo was extremely confused and looked to his father, desperate for answers. How did Sojiro know this creature? What was she? Why was she sent to them? What did the necklace mean?

He didn't have to ask because Sojiro chuckled at her response, before turning to his son. "Kaella can answer your questions son, do not let this go. Keep it with you at all times and you shall be protected." Sojiro handed Hanzo the necklace before exiting the cell.

Hanzo looked from his father to the necklace in his hand before turning back to Kaella. Just as he was about to bombard her with questions she held up a hand. "Hold on, hot stuff. Gotta change." She held out her hands and in them appeared a pair of black leggings, a black bandeau, a pair of riding boots and a brush.

Hanzo turned his back on her as she began taking off her yukata without bothering to tell him to do so. "Where did you get those?" He questioned without looking back.

"It'll be explained in a moment." Was all she would offer him in response.

After a few moments she told him he could turn around. He did, and was silently pleased with the outfit she had chosen, it accentuated her curves, while he did not approve of the small material she had chosen to cover her chest he decided not to chide her about it.

She finished slipping her left foot into a boot and zipping it up, standing straight and moving to the cot. She reached back and pulled her hair over her shoulder to begin running the brush through the inky black locks. He noticed that since it had dried her hair had developed waves through the longer portion of it, and small curls to frame her face. Hanzo admitted to himself that she was beautiful, no matter how demonic her personality seemed to be.

"So, I'm just gonna give the general run through of what's going on, and where I come from and after I'm done you can go ahead and ask any questions you may have that I did not answer, 'kay?" She addressed him with a no nonsense attitude. He nodded in response, moving to sit on the chair beside the cot.

She hummed with approval, closing her eyes for a moment as she finished tugging a particularly tough knot out of her hair. "Okay, so. I'm Kaella, I'm somewhat of a weapon of war. I was created in the void between time and space. Yeah I know: Impossible, but bare with me.

"I have ultimate powers, I can shape shift, summon weapons from the void, I'm immortal, I am immune to most poisons and diseases, and I have extended knowledge of mostly everything.

"The only thing that can affect me is the necklace you have there." She paused, eyeing the jewel in Hanzo's hand with a hungry gaze.

He clutched it tighter, wary of her actions and unwilling to believe the story she was telling him, she was more than likely psychotic. But then again, he controlled magical beasts that were chained to the tattoo on his arm, so he supposed it wasn't entirely impossible.

Kaella sighed, returning to her task of brushing her seemingly endless hair. "If the jewel is in my possession nothing can touch me, I am immune to attacks and I have complete control over my actions.

"Long ago I did not possess the Kami no hoseki, or god jewel, I was free and only swore my allegiance to who I deemed fit, news of my existence traveled and some sought to control me, such actions are to be expected of humans afterall." She paused, a vicious smirk gracing her features. "They quickly discovered what a foolish endeavor that was, however."

Hanzo shuttered at the image of this girl ripping hundreds of men apart, immortal and free, how could anyone believe they could control such a powerful creature?

"Some turned into hundreds, hundreds turned into thousands, and the leaders of the cults wishing to controlling me tricked the civilians and those in power into believing I was a monster seeking the annihilation of humanity. Over the course of a few years the entire population of the Earth feared me. Instead of respecting my strength and trusting my judgement as I had proven to be fair in the past, the humans quickly turned against me, crying out for my death." Hanzo saw the sting of betrayal burning in her eyes, but she refused to say anything more of the matter.

She had set the brush down and she looked at him with a cold stare that chilled Hanzo to the bone. "If you are foolish enough to attempt to kill a being of ultimate power, in my eyes, you deserve death."

Hanzo gulped, while he agreed that it was indeed incredibly foolish to try to kill an immortal creature, he would not have let his rage consume him as he assumed she did.

"So, when the armies of the world amassed in front of me in the desert now known as Arizona, I attempted to convince their leaders that what they were doing was foolish and they would only bring on their own destruction. Of course they would not listen, and so I did just that." She paused, her eyes flashing with memories.

Hanzo realized she suddenly looked very very old, her body was young, her actions up until this point had portrayed the bubbly freedom of youth. Looking at her in this moment though, she looked as if she had lived to see a thousand suns burn and flicker out of existence, like she had watched, helpless, as countless women and children died around her. Hanzo felt a pang of sympathy, remembering an age old saying: you either died a hero, or lived long enough to see yourself become the villain.

"Well, anyways, I destroyed three quarters of Earth's population, after it was done, I was miserable. I sought solace in the remaining population, most would not dare to come near me. One man did, however and I made the mistake of falling in love. He was the one that created the necklace and it chained me to him." She laid back on her cot, arms folding beneath her head and propping her left leg on her knee. She glanced at him, "when you're too far from me, do you feel something akin to a tugging on your soul?" He nodded.

She smirked, closing her eyes and huffing in what sounded like a low chuckle. "The necklace possesses connecting powers, it sort of links myself to the holder so we always know where the other is, and because love was poured into it's creation the jewel longs to be with it's partner, if you look closely your name is engraved in the back." She pointed to the pendant, Hanzo couldn't resist and lifted it closer to his face to see it was indeed engraved with his name in elegant, english characters.

"I became his slave, any order he gave me I had to obey without question. But he made the mistake of embuding the Kami no Hoseki with a sort of sentience, if the jewel deemed the order to be wrong or evil I could ignore his command. That was what lead to his destruction, I killed him and took the necklace away. For years I was free, hundreds in fact, and then the necklace was taken from me again, a group had formed to ensure that the necklace would always remain in good hands so that I could never wreak havoc on the world again." She snorted in contempt at the notion.

"But, the jewel decides who is worthy of my power and who is not, it chooses who may take hold of my power. The cult had no knowledge of this and were alarmed when the Kami no Hoseki refused to bind itself to a young man. I killed them and took my jewel, eventually it was taken again and the cycle continued."

"It sounds as though you are not very skilled in protecting your life from your enemies." Hanzo interjected. Kaella shot him a glare and hissed at him in response.

" _Anyway_ , that's how I got here. I've been alive for longer than I could ever count, I stopped keeping track long ago. Before I got to you I was bound to the leader of the Okozaka, but the jewel retracted its binding from him after we visited one of his brothels." She shivered at the memory.

"I guess daddy Okozaka knew what a bad idea it was to keep me around after I left his control, so, he made a tank containing liquid made from the boiling essence of the plant called belladonna, it's the only thing that can sedate me. Gallons of the stuff had to be made in order to restrain me. But, that is irrelevant." She opened her eyes to look at him. "Any questions?"

Hanzo thought for a moment, trying to think of any questions he could possibly have. "How did this man make the jewel with such powers?"

Kaella shrugged. "He had some of my blood, and he was a void mage, he summoned the power of one of the gods that created me and asked for his strength to create such an item. Having seen the destruction I could easily bring upon humanity he agreed."

Hanzo sniffed at her response, such people who could harness the power of the elements no longer existed, the only ones who could come close to this ability were himself and his brother.

This brought another question to his thoughts. "Why did you call me a dragon wielder?"

She hummed, a smile coming to her face. "Because you hold power of two of dragons, darling. A rarity nowadays. Your kind used to be everywhere, hundreds of dragon wielders walked the Earth a long time ago." She grinned and looked at him. "Only their beasts were flesh and bone, the dragons would pick their partners at birth and they would live together."

She looked him over for a moment. "I worked with these people, they were a cult of sorts, and it would only occur once over the course of a few centuries that a dragon wielder capable of owning the loyalty of two of the beasts would appear. So I guess your special, it's no wonder that the jewel chose you." She finished turning her head to the ceiling and closing her eyes.

Hanzo wanted to know more about these fabled dragon wielders, but decided it was a discussion best left for another time. He had to decide what to do with the jewel and the creature attached to it.

First things first, "What exact species do you call yourself?" He questioned.

She hummed in amusement. "Few have asked me that. I'm called an Akarai."

He mulled over all of the information she had given him for a moment. A creature with ultimate powers such as she would surely be an asset to his clan, but he was hesitant to use it, revealing such a power to his enemies could raise several issues among the elders. He was still a warrior as well, and he was loathe to let another fight his battles for him. How could any of what this girl have told him be true, he had never heard of his existence from his father, and he had never seen her from and meetings he had attended with the Okozaka's.

He looked over the girl casually humming a tune and bouncing her foot in the air. She didn't look to be anything special, she didn't even look to be that strong or fast, or capable of really much of anything. Hanzo had seen some surprising abilities from those who seemed incapable of performing such feats.

She interrupted his thoughts by suddenly standing up and stretching. "Anymore questions?" He shook his head, standing as well.

She hummed in approval. "Good, now I want to go to a hookah lounge. So you're coming with me."

He stopped, leveling her with a glare, such frivolities were _not_ something he allowed himself to do and he had no desire to start now. "Certainly not, I do not indulge in such things and I do not want to."

She laughed, stepping over him and grabbing his arm, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I wasn't asking, hot shot."

The world went black for a few moments before they appeared in another room. Taken aback he shook his arm from her grasp as she walked away, they were in a totally different location and judging from the writing on the wall behind a small counter they were in America. He looked around, taking in his surroundings and attempting to calm the lurching in his stomach.

There was a blanket of smoke covering the rectangular room and a calm atmosphere filled his senses, music thumped from a DJ placed next to the door that he assumed to be the entrance. That side of the building was solid panes of glass, while everywhere else the walls were a rippling sort of stone. Golden lights were strung across the ceiling, creating a dim lighting. Couches and chairs lined one side of the room with tables in the middle of them, it was crowded, but not overly so. Large shishas were placed on the tables and people were inhaling large amounts of smoke from them while conversing and laughing.

He looked down at himself, suddenly feeling very out of place only to realize he was wearing a black and red plaid long sleeve, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, over a grey shirt with dark blue jeans and normal tennis shoes.

He turned his gaze to Kaella who was leaning on the counter conversing with a pretty blonde girl, laughing and smiling. He walked over to her prepared to demand she take him back to Hanamura immediately, but she shushed him as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Ah, it's been too long Candy, got a boy yet?" She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively at the young woman.

Candy blushed a pretty pink and pushed her glasses further up her nose looking away. "N-no.. I don't have time for romantic interests between work and my classes."

Kaella waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, honey. Not even a little side piece?" Candy's blush deepened and she shook her head.

Kaella clicked her tongue, "Well, whenever you're ready you'll find a handsome one I'm sure. Now! Can I get monster for myself and my buddy over here?" She jerked a thumb at Hanzo and he was half tempted to break it.

Candy immediately brightened at the change of subject. "Of course! New boyfriend?" She questioned as the petite blonde began typing something into the register.

Kaella laughed and shook her head. "Nah, he's an introvert and I absolutely had to get him out of that stuffy house." She pointedly glared at Hanzo, "shame on you!" She admonished with a light, playful pat against his shoulder.

What was she doing? Her demeanor had completely changed from when they had been in the Shimada castle. He supposed it was due to the environment shift. Hanzo groaned, why was he here and why did he let her touch him to begin with?

Kaella laughed loudly, clearly sensing his internal struggle, before turning to wave goodbye to Candy and taking his arm leading him over to a recently vacated couch. She plopped herself down on the couch against the wall, motioning for him to sit on the one adjacent to hers.

Sensing he had no choice, Hanzo sighed and sat down. "I would like to return to Hanamura." He was too exhausted of her antics to question how they had gotten there.

Kaella waved a dismissive hand, looking up to admire the laser show that had sparked to life from a sort of half ball attached to the ceiling and spinning in the middle of the room. "Oh come on, you're such a stiff, all you Japanese people are far too rigid. You need to chill out sometimes." Suddenly a devilish smirk sprung to her face. She sat up and looked at him briefly, "wait right here." She ordered and skipped over to the counter.

Hanzo groaned, leaning forward to place his elbows on his knees and rubbing the bridge of his nose. This girl would be the death of him, he looked down and pulled the pendant out of his pocket. He decided to hook the necklace around his neck and tucked the jewel itself under his shirt; he felt a little calmer and at ease with it resting protectively against his chest.

Kaella returned moments later holding a small container, followed by Candy holding a shisha with purple a mouth piece in her left hand, and burning coals in between a pair of tongs in her right. Kaella's eyes twinkled with mischief as she fell back into the couch, Candy giggled at her apparent friends carefree antics. She set the shisha down and placed the coals on top of the tin foil, shifting them to the edge. "Have fun you two!" She chirped before turning to go back to the counter.

Kaella set the container on the table next to the shisha. Hanzo's curiosity got the best of him and he leaned forward to examine it, it had what appeared to be the cut off top quarter of a water bottle immersed halfway in blue liquid. He looked at Kaella in question, resigning himself to his fate of spending the evening here. If he must, he might as well enjoy himself.

The girl giggled, gesturing for him to watch. He did as she deeply inhaled from the mouth piece, smoke filling her lungs she removed the piece and closed her mouth, bringing the piece of water bottle up to her lips she exhaled. Hanzo's eyes widened as white smoke filled a perfect bubble, he watched her jiggle the large bubble off of the plastic and it floated away, he stared at it until it landed on the arm of a chair, popping and smoke rolling down the arm before dissipating.

He turned his head back to her and she grinned. "Ever smoke?"

The evening was spent with Hanzo attempting to blow smoke bubbles and failing most times, but smiling in delight while Kaella cheered to see a perfect bubble float into the air.

He was feeling very calm and at peace, he was tired but he didn't feel exhausted. Instead a small bit of energy kept him awake but relaxed, he could probably walk around and enjoy a forest or lie on a hill and watch the sunset for hours. He doubted he could do much else than the basic functions required of him, his mind was too foggy and thoughts too sluggish. He didn't mind though, he was enjoying relaxing on the couch with the Akarai adjacent to him.

She looked to be in the same state as he only seeming to be slightly more aware and awake. Where his eyes were half-lidded and a pleasant smile across his face as he leaned back with an arm under his head, unable to do much other than watch the smoke bend and swirl as he exhaled, she was humming along to the music around her, eyes fluttering shut occasionally.

He suddenly wondered what exactly hookah consisted of.

Hanzo turned his head to see Kaella had tucked her feet up next to her on the couch, while she clutched a pillow close to her stomach. She was inhaling from the pipe and looking down at her phone. "What is in this 'hookah'?" He inquired softly, he sounded so different than the usual sharp, concise voice that demanded respect.

She smirked, looking up from her phone and blowing smoke in his face. He chuckled, waving away the minor inconvenience before replacing his arm behind his head. "I'll tell you, if you promise not to get mad at me." She enticed him.

Hanzo shrugged and nodded in response, he didn't feel capable of anger at the moment.

She grinned, handing him the pipe. "It's nicotine combined with a few other elements usually. But you looked stressed, so I asked Candy to replace the nicotine with marijuana."

He paused, mulling over her answer, he knew something should be wrong with that sentence but didn't see the need to search for it. While he had never considered trying such illegal substances, he knew marijuana was not toxic. So he didn't mind.

She chuckled at his lack of shock. "Wait until you're sober, then think back on this."

Hanzo nodded, suddenly feeling a very strong urge to sleep. "May we return to Hanamura now? I wish to sleep."

Kaella nodded in response, placing the mouthpiece on the table and waving goodbye to her friend before taking Hanzo's arm. He felt the familiar lurch as the room when black, but wasn't as alarmed as before.

They appeared in his room and he looked to see he was only in grey sweat pants, he didn't mind what he slept in at the moment, he just longed to lay in the comfort of his sheets.

Kaella helped him into bed, before she smirked. "Mind if I sleep on the bed?" He shot her a look and she laughed, turning to where his legs rested. She brought her arms up and jumped forward, he was astounded to watch her land on the bed as a lovely tortoiseshell cat. She purred, staring at him with glimmering blue eyes, he just shook his head and laid back. He would interrogate her and set ground rules for their.. 'partnership' in the morning.

 **A/N:**

 **HANZO GOT HIIIIGGGGHHHHH**

 **No they're not chummy yet, it's just when you smoke you're friends with everyone. We'll see the chilliness between them return next chapter.**

 **I had fun with this one.**

 **THANK YOU FOR READING I LOVE YOU ALL**


	3. Ground Rules

Hanzo sucked in a deep breath as he awoken, blinking his eyes open he realized it was still dark. He craned his head to see that his clock read 4:25. The sun would be peeking over the hills to signal the beginning of a new day soon.

Hanzo stretched, groaning with pleasure at the satisfying shake his legs and arms gave at the strain. That had been the most deep and refreshing sleep he had in a long time.

Suddenly sitting up ram-rod straight, he remembered the previous evenings escapade. Chastising himself for falling prey to the devil-spawns antics he threw the blankets off of himself, setting about to find a shirt of some kind. He needed to find Kaella and punish her somehow for what she had done, she had taken him to an unfamiliar place against his will-

He stopped, thinking back. He had never explicitly told her to take him back to Hanamura. This baffled him, why in gods name didn't he? She could've been leading him into a trap!

Hanzo checked his bed, the feline that had previously occupied the space by his feet was nowhere to be found. He brought his hand up and let out a sigh of relief when he felt the Kami no Hoseki resting peacefully against his collarbone.

He moved over to the window beside his bed and peered out, looking around he spotted the woman a ways off on a hilltop. He growled under his breath, he had no desire to leave his room so early in the morning but he needed to ensure that the infuriating woman had a good understanding of exactly what their non-existent friendship consisted of.

He shrugged on a white undershirt and quickly and quietly stepped out to confront the Akarai.

It didn't take him long to reach where she had chosen to seat herself. She was sitting cross legged, facing the sun with her hands on her knees and her eyes shut. It looked to be an almost meditative pose to him, but he had no time to waste concerning himself with the presence of her mind that he decided was gone most of the time.

"I did not harm you, and you slept like a newborn. Think before you speak." Just as he was about to shout at her impudence she spoke. He shut his mouth with an audible clack of his teeth coming together and bored holes into the back of her head.

Kaella had changed her attire to a black tank top and a pair of silk, silver pajama bottoms. Her hair was held back in a french braid and she looked to be at peace.

He didn't care, he told himself.

"Girl, we must discuss how we shall go about our... Unfortunate arrangement." He growled, stepping over to sit some distance from her.

The statement drew a small smile from her. She opened her eyes slowly, looking at the majesty of the rolling hills before her. "I suppose, I knew it would happen sooner or later." She mused.

Hanzo looked over to her to notice a cat had made it's presence known, it was brindle, with white front paws, chest and back legs. The feline blinked it's vibrant green eyes at him, before turning to look up at Kaella, reaching up to nuzzle her face, purring loud enough to bed heard over the wind that tugged at it's long fur.

Kaella smiled softly at the creature, leaning her head down to nuzzle and kiss it's head. It mewled it's appreciation before stepping off of her lap and settling itself on its haunches, tail coming to rest around it's paws.

"Is it yours?" He asked looking up from the feline. She nodded,humming and gently stroking its back while the cat purred then closed its eyes in appreciation.

"His name is Lokiv. He is apart of me just as your dragons are." She did not elaborate further which annoyed Hanzo, but he said nothing more on the matter.

"If we are to work together we must come to turns of things that are and are not allowed." He said quietly She hummed in agreement, placing her hand back on its knee and closing her eyes once more.

"To begin with, when we are not conducting business I do not care what you do with yourself, do not involve me in your dealings. Do not bother me in any way unless I request your presence." She nodded, not bothering to look at him or open her eyes. For some reason this frustrated him, he decided to believe it was because she did not seem to be truly paying attention to him.

"You will sleep in your own room and you will not influence me with anymore of your... _Frivolities_ ever again."

Another nod.

Hanzo had to resist the urge to growl. This creature should be more attentive to the rules set by her new master.

"You will not interfere in any battles with anymore power than a normal human would be equipped with unless I have explicitly instructed you otherwise. In fact, you will not so much as make your presence known unless I call." She bobbed her head once more in response and Hanzo had to inhale deeply to calm his frustrations. Why was he lack of further response bothering him so?

"Should a time come when you are not needed, I do not wish for you to be anywhere near me. Do not involve yourself with any conflicts or confrontations, do not cause trouble for any other beings. Have I made myself clear?" Kaella nodded once more and this time Hanzo did growl, quiet as it might have been the feline seemed to pick up on his verbal outlet, hissing at him and looking behind them.

Hanzo turned his head to follow his gaze, in the shadows of a cherry blossom tree was an alarmingly large wolf. It stood there, dark grey brindle in color with red glowing eyes staring at the small party.

Hanzo stood and dropped into a defensive stance in alarm, cursing himself for neglecting his bow.

"Do not concern yourself with Okkin." He turned to stare at the girl in shock, her eyes were open and her posture had gone rigid. She took a final survey of the majesty before her, before sighing and standing, turning and walking towards the wolf.

He watched Kaella gently place a hand on the wolfs head, relaxing only a fraction. He heard a strangled hiss and looked back only to see Lokiv had disappeared.

He turned his gaze back to Kaella in confusion, but she merely sighed. Her eyes looked tired and- for lack of a better word -ancient. Hanzo vaguely wondered what wisdom and stories an immortal being could share, infinite knowledge of times long since passed had to be something of a coveted nature.

But the look was gone as soon as it had come and she turned her gaze to Hanzo with a steely resolve. "I understand your wishes, have a good day, Hanzo." Then she turned and walked away, Okkin cast a suspicious glance back at the archer before hurrying to catch up with its master.

Hanzo grumbled, heading back to his room, the Akarai seemed to be exceedingly bipolar in nature he thought with disdain as he tried to ignore the tugging in his chest.

Years flew past, without much notice. Hanzo rarely included Kaella in his work unless absolutely necessary. After the initial interactions between Hanzo and the Akarai she would rarely appear unless summoned, preferring to spend her days in places unknown to Hanzo.

He imagined she was somewhere far from Hanamura most days, judging from the pull on his soul. On some occasions he felt as though his entire chest had caved in and was crushing his heart, in which he would confine himself to his room with no interactions with any other living beings.

One day, a few years after Hanzo and Kaella had met on the top of the hill, Hanzo spotted her sitting in the garden next to the koi pond. His brows had furrowed in confusion, not recalling have called her.

He had approached her with the intent of telling her to be gone. Silently relieved at the soothing sensation of his soul pulsing with happiness at being so close to the being it was tied to. "Onna, what are you doing here? I did not summon you."

Hanzo had ceased calling her a girl long ago, as the years passed and he changed but she did not he had come to realize how old she truly was, and deserved to be acknowledged as such.

Without turning her head from the koi lightly dabbling at the waters edge in front of her she had hummed in acknowledgement. "No, but I sense change."

That was all she would offer him on the matter despite his prodding to offer him more of an answer., to his question. She remained silently until he eventually ceased his pestering with a growl to return to his duties.

Another year went by and Kaella disappeared again, Hanzo supposed she realized she had made the wrong assumption as no change had occurred.

Hanzo's father grew sick and it seemed as though there was nothing the healers could do to restore his health. The elders knew Sojiro's time was drawing to an end and began plotting to coax Hanzo into destruction, they coveted the Shimada empire more with every passing day. Unbeknownst to them the reason for their increased strength that brought fear to their very name.

When Sojiro finally passed away, Hanzo didn't know whether to feel relieved, terrified or mournful for the loss of his father. They had not been close during his life but he had still been Hanzo's birth father, it felt as though a piece of his soul had twisted and shattered. Try as he might to ignore the loss he still found himself mourning the absence of Sojiro's wisdom and unwavering strength that brought his courage and stability.

Another year passed and Hanzo had withdrawn into himself, his brother offered him no comfort in his day to day tasks. In fact Genji seemed to grace Shimada castle with his presence even less than he had when their father was alive.

The elders ceased their opportunity, ordering Hanzo to either bring Genji to his senses and remind him of his duties, or to erase him from existence all together.

Hanzo was daunted at the possibility of killing his brother, but his mind and body seemed to be on somewhat of an auto-pilot. Refusing to shirk the duties presented to him no matter how absurd they seemed to be.

And so, Hanzo confronted Genji. Demanding he return to Shimada castle to take on the duties of an heir to the title of yakusa. Genji had vehemently denied, declaring that he no longer wished to be apart of the clan and anymore.

Genji had looked at his cold, unfeeling brother with a pleading look. The younger Shimada brother knew exaclty what fate should befall anyone who attempted to leave the crimelord's empire. He prayed Hanzo would be merciful, despite his cold, withdrawn nature of late.

"Brother, I cannot tolerate this place any longer. Father is no longer with us and I have no desire to remain in a world of such evil." Genji had sighed, looking down at his boots and shuffling his feet.

He looked back up at Hanzo, noticing the flash of emotions in his eyes before they went completely blank. "Goodbye, brother." And with that, Genji turned to leave.

Hanzo released the dragons, unwilling to harm Genji himself.

He turned away as Genji screamed in agony, pawing at the beasts electric fire searing his flesh and causing it to bubble and blister. Pleading for Hanzo to end his suffering, to call the mystical beasts away.

Hanzo looked back at his brother for a moment after the dragons dispersed. Genji's eyes begged him for help, his cracked and bloody lips silently opening and closing, unable to form words as he reached out to his brother in desperation for help.

Hanzo turned and walked away.

Those wails and pleads still rang through Hanzo's ears when only silence surrounded him. The betrayed look in his brothers eyes scorched into his memory, burning the backs of his eyelids every time he closed his eyes.

He sat, alone on the hill top where he had made the rules of their partnership with Kaella. He pressed a bottle of sake to his lips and took a few, deep gulps. Attempting to drown out the incessant sounds of his brothers death from his mind.

It didn't work.

"Well, that's just _sad_."

He didn't jerk at the unwelcome intruder, he knew who it was as his soul relaxed. He did not possess the energy to feel elated or relieved at her proximity.

She came to stand beside him, looking over the growing city with a noise of disdain. Hanzo glanced at her, noting her hair drawn into a french braid and her completely black attire of leggings, boots, and tank top.

He was so absorbed in his anguish that he didn't notice Lokiv looking at him curiously behind Kaella's boot.

"Hanzo." He raised a brow, that was the first time he had ever heard her call him by his name. He shrugged it off, she had probably come to ask for her necklace back. At this point, Hanzo would have given it to her without argument. He no longer cared for the damn thing.

"You need to do something about this."

Her words shocked him, snapping his attention up to her serious expression. "What?"

She sighed and crouched down, placing her elbows on her knees and looking at him with a flash of determination behind her eyes. "You need to make them pay."

He knew what she meant he knew what the elders had done. But he no longer cared, he wanted no part of the clans or really anything anymore. He was half tempted to find a suitable cliff to throw himself off of and end his pitiful existence. He turned back to numbly staring out at the city of Hanamura, a sight that should awe him in its grandeur, but only left him feeling hallow.

She frowned at his lack of response. "So, elders kill your father, make you kill your brother, and completely destroy your family name and all you're going to do about it is sit about and drink?" She shook her head, standing with a scoff. "Pathetic."

She turned to leave, Lokiv padding to keep up with her only to fade away after a couple of steps.

Hanzo shrugged off her disdain for his behavior. He simply did not care anymore.

Before she truly disappeared she cast a solemn glance over her shoulder at the archer. "Hanzo, there is no honor or nobility or even peace in destroying yourself over someone else's indiscretions. You will find yourself in constant turmoil in the next life if this is the way you decide to spend the one you have now."

With that, he heard a flutter of wings and the familiar tug on his soul returned.

He frowned, mulling over her words. She was right.

He stood, casting the bottle of sake away and turned to destroy all that he had created.

Overwatch.

The name left a sour taste on his tongue. He had no desire, initially, to accept Genji's offer to return with him to Overwatch; but after deciding he had no other purpose in life he decided to join his long lost brother.

The first few months were, to say the least, _hell_.

Genji was the only one- besides the few, accepting feminine members of the group -that offered Hanzo any semblance of friendship. Reinhardt was an overly enthusiastic leader of course, welcoming every new member with a warm smile and a bellowing laugh. But Hanzo caught the older man more often than not sending him looks of uncertainty and wariness.

This did not bother Hanzo, it left him ample time to meditate and speak with Genji in effort to reconcile and attempt to amend the rift that had grown between them. Zenyatta assisted him with finding peace within his weary soul in his own gentle way, however infuriating Hanzo found his ominous half-replies at times.

Months passed and Hanzo found himself achieving peace, the unrest that had been stewing within him growing more distant, the storms in his mind settling and slipping away.

After Jesse McCree made a joke during dinner, to which Hanzo couldn't stop the laughing from bursting from his lips the team had warmed up to him, accepting him into their social circles and even offering for him to come along to clubs or other frivolous escapades. He politely declined each time, preferring the quiet of his room.

Hanzo stepped into his dormitory now, reveling in the comforting sandlewood scent wafting from the stick of incense burning in its place on the dresser. Around it were unlit candles and various small statues of the gods from his past. In front of the dresser was a tatami mat where he sat when he wished to meditate. A couch a a bookshelf were at the other end of his room, small golden light strung from the ceiling provided a warm, comforting glow that reminded him of a time long since past.

Before the door could close McCree stepped in, looking rather nervous. Hanzo turned at the sudden intrusion, vaguely wondering how the brash cowboy had managed to follow him without his notice.

"Did you need something, McCree?" Hanzo addressed the other male, hanging his bow and quiver on what was normally a coat rack.

McCree nodded, "uh, yeah. I was wonderin' if you- Say, Hanz. When'd'ya get a cat?" The cowboy pointed at something behind him.

Hanzo's eyes widened in alarm, whirling around, focusing on his soul only to realize the pull had significantly lessened.

Sure enough Lokiv sat calmly on the coffee table in the middle of the room, the small feline meowed a greeting,but stayed where he was with his tail tucked around his paws.

"Well if that ain't the darnedest thing!" McCree said before brushing past the stunned Hanzo to pet the cat. "What's the little guys name?" He inquired while Lokiv purred, leaning into the cowboys affections.

Hanzo stiffened, eyes darting around to find her. "Lokiv..." He answered offhandedly, he quickly stepped into the kitchen, finding nothing he scowled and went to search elsewhere.

"Lokiv, huh? Cute little feller. Ain't Lokiv one of them viking names?" Jesse kept asking questions though Hanzo was focused on anything but him.

When he failed to reply McCree looked up, furrowing his brows in confusion at Hanzo's search. "Whatcha lookin' for there darlin'?"

For once Hanzo didn't snap at the use of the pet name McCree seemed to have a fondness for giving everyone. He turned back to the gunslinger and sighed. If he was going to get anywhere with his search he needed Jesse gone. "I apologize, McCree. I must ask you to leave for now. It seems something has come up that I must attend to."

McCree looked unconvinced, but nodded, albeit a little pouty. "Alright, I gotta talk to you about somethin' later though. Have a good evenin' partner!" He called as he exited the small room.

Hanzo breathed a sigh of relief, turning to the feline who meowed with what appeared to be alarm in his eyes. "Alright, where is she?"

Lokiv hopped off the table and padded down the small hallway that lead to Hanzo's room. As soon as he opened the door he looked to the bed and his eyes widened.

There, laying on her side Kaella lay, blood covering the pristine white sheets she had been laying upon. Gashes covered her body and she looked to be barely breathing.

Hanzo's throat tightened with panic as he turned and darted into the bathroom, gathering the first aid kit from behind the mirror and soaking a water in water, while leaving another dry he ran back into the room. He looked up and hurried to her side, rolling her onto her back he took the wet wet and wiped away the caked blood from her wounds, fresh blood oozed from her wounds at an alarming rate and he set about cleaning and bandaging nastiest of the gashes before working on the smaller ones.

An hour later Hanzo leaned back from the bed. Looking over his handiwork, she was out cold and the white bandages wrapped around nearly every portion of her body. He sighed in relief, hoping she would mend quickly.

After he cleaned up the stray gauze wrappings and other amenities he gingerly moved Kaella from the bed, setting her on the makeshift bed he had placed on the floor so he could clean the sheets on his bed. He activated a biotic field close to her, feeling his own adrenaline and headache subsiding from its warm glow.

Hanzo went into the bathroom to wash away the blood after removing the sheets from his bed. His mind reeling with the possibilities of what could have harmed a powerful being such as Kaella, as far as he could recall any wounds she had afflicted healed within a few hours. He prayed the same would happen now.

Kaella and Hanzo were not close by any means. He had not spoken to her much other than to request something of her, or to tell her to leave. Though, she did have a peculiar habit of appearing and encouraging Hanzo when he needed it. He had grown somewhat fond of the silent companion, even Lokiv had seemed to take a liking to the grizzled archer.

He thought back to that day on the hill top, he remembered the serene air around her he had so callously shattered. It surprised him now that she had not lashed out in anger at his intrusion on her meditative state, she was a very old soul indeed.

He paused as he was washing the suds from his hair. Could it be his fault she had been so badly injured? He had told her not to surpass what strength a human would posses, but he had not specified that such an order only applied to battles in which he was involved.

Silently cursing himself, assuming that was the reason for her current state, he finished his shower. Pulling his robe on he went into the kitchen to make himself some tea to calm his nerves. After finishing the cup he returned to the room, replacing the biotic field before putting fresh sheets over hims bed.

He laid back and relaxed as best as he could, breathing a deep sigh he glanced one last time at the sleeping figure on the floor, before letting himself be pulled into a state of unconscious as well.

 **A/N:**

 **WEW!**

 **Not really, tbh that was kind of a filler chapter. I wanted Hanzy boy and Kaella to not really interact with one another for a while until we came to this part of Hanzo's life in Overwatch.**

 **WTF HAPPENED TO KAELLA YO?**

 **THANK YOU FOR READING!**


	4. A Harrowing Experience

Hanzo awoke the next morning to the sheets tangled helplessly around his legs, evidence of the restless sleep he had managed to grasp.

He sighed deeply, turning on his side to check on Kaella.

He sat up straight and back pedaled across his bed at the sight that greeted him.

The wolf he had seen standing by the cherry blossoms many years ago was standing over the Akarai protectively, Hanzo wasn't sure but it looked to be larger than it had been so long ago.

Okkin rumbled with a growl, her maw opening and closing with a growing snarl and saliva dripped from her lips. Her eyes flashed with something Hanzo couldn't quite put his finger on, but he could've _sworn_ it was something akin to hatred.

"Well, since you are here I assume that means Lokiv has gone." He spoke, collecting himself to sit on the balls of his feet in a crouch. The wolf merely curled her lip in response.

Hanzo scoffed, looking past the red eyed creature to give a quick assessment of her masters condition.

She looked to be resting peacefully, the blood soaked bandages needed to be changed however, and he wasn't quite sure how to go about getting around the wolf currently standing over her with a malicious glint in her eye; like she was daring Hanzo to try and touch her master, giving her an excuse to rip him apart.

He sighed deeply, shivering at the thought of the wolfs jaws wrapped around his torso. He would most likely have to wait the beast out until Kaella awakened. He could give a final stab at reasoning with the creature though. "I understand you are only protecting her while she is in such a vulnerable state, but I am only attempting to help her. Surely you understand the need for her to be taken care of at this time."

Okkin looked to be contemplating what he had said, she cast a glance at her master over her shoulder, taking in her current state of health, then looked back at him with wary eyes.

Hanzo held his breath, Kaella's condition was not dire, and it could wait until she awoke to tend to replacing her bandages, but he would rather ensure that none of them had become infected over the course of the night before he set about his morning routine. He silently pleaded the wolf had enough sense to understand him and allow him to help her master.

He suddenly wondered what this beast represented or what relation it had with Kaella. Lokiv seemed to be a calm, sentimental, wise companion while this wolf looked to be full of rage and untrusting of every creature she saw. He shook his head, it probably had something to do with the nature of Kaella's powers, perhaps they were closely related to his dragons in that sense.

But Kaella had said that dragons had actual, physical forms long ago, that they chose people to live alongside. They were not the mystical beasts that him and his brother now controlled, he found that in times of great unrest his dragons would speak to him, though the wolf in front of him seemed incapable of such a thing, however well it understood him. He made a mental note to inquire about the dragons she had spoken of so many years ago when he had the chance.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the wolf took a step back, eyeing him warily she moved to stand beside the woman but not without giving him a glare of warning with a paw on Kaella's side.

 _Touch her in any way I deem to be harmful and you will not live to regret it_

He nodded at the silent threat, moving off the bed and grabbing the roll of bandages he had left on his nightstand. He moved cautiously over to kneel beside Kaella and set about unraveling the bandages while casting wary glances at the wolf watching him quietly.

He sighed with relief, the bleeding had stopped and while the wounds were red it was not an angry infected color. He set about cleaning them gently and placing new bandages around them. He noted that the wounds seemed to be healing much faster than they should have been if Kaella were human; he chalked it up to her being an Akarai.

Once he had finished wrapping the nasty gashes and cuts he set down another biotic field, making another mental note to get more from the lovely Doctor Ziegler at a later time, he clicked it on and jumped about three feet in the air when the wolf howled and snarled in pain. Okkin turned her furious eyes on him and he was sure he would have to fight her off, instead she merely faded away, leaving with only an echo of a snarl.

Confusion dominated his thoughts and he wanted to wake the woman on the floor and demand she answer his question, but he had more self-control than to give into such desires.

With a sigh he stood and went into the kitchen, setting the brass kettle on the stove after filling it to begin boiling the water for his tea. After flicking on the stove he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and tie up his hair, suddenly remembering how short it was to how long it had been when Kaella had last seen him. Now the lower half of his head had been cut off and shaved in favor of only the top half being long, he quite liked the look, despite Hana a.k.a " " saying it was something called 'hipster.'

He shrugged off the memory, hearing the kettle whistle he returned to the kitchenette and reached into the cabinet to grab a mug off of the shelf. Pausing, he thought for a moment before selecting another and set about making the extra cup.

He returned to his room moments later to find Kaella sitting up and coughing, he set down the mugs of tea and hurried to her side. A small mew alerted him to Lokiv's presence as he reached to assist the broken woman. She slapped his hand away with a growl, looking over herself her lip curled in a snarl, apparently angry with herself. The Akarai made an attempt to stand but cried out when her knees buckled and she landed on the floor with a grunt.

"You should not be moving, Akarai. You will only aggravate your injuries." He informed her, she growled at him but accepted his help to shift her into a sitting position on her makeshift bed. He nodded, satisfied that she would not attempt to stand again and reached over to the mugs of tea on the stand.

True, he could've tried to stop her when she tried to stand, but she seemed to be a creature which must try and fail before she listens to reason. He doubted Kaella was often so brutally injured as she was now, and it begged the question of what had happened and what she had fought against to earn such wounds.

Lokiv mewled, looking up at his master with bright eyes. This time, Kaella did not reach to pet him, she was staring at her tea with contempt and brows furrowed in confusion. Hanzo supposed she was confused as to why she was hurting so, which made him wonder just how many wars she had fought in.

He looked over her form, it was impossible to see any scars from former battles due to the extent of her injuries. Her clothes were tattered and hanging off of her lithe form, covering any skin that had not been already by the bandages.

Except for one, well three.

Over her left eye were three long scars, it looked like a wolf had clawed them into place long ago. Leaving the iris a darkened brownish color, a shadow of its former cloudy brilliance. While the other eye was left untouched it still made Hanzo shudder to think about what could've inflicted such a wound.

Now that he looked Kaella over for the first time in years, she looked bedraggled to say the least. She looked like she had been fighting an endless war and only just now did she finally get a chance to rest, her eyes held storms of rage and yet behind them determination and sorrow.

Hanzo was struck with the urge to ask where she had been all of these years.

"Onna, what inflicted these wounds?" He asked instead, he would get to the rest of his questions with time.

She sucked in a breath, looking at him with half lidded eyes and a somber look. "Another Akarai." She said simply before taking a sip of her tea.

He was taken aback, surprise showing clearly on his face. "So you are not the only one?"

She shook her head. "Am now, was barely able to kill the bastard." She slurred and mumbled her words in that suddenly familiar southern drawl. Hanzo was struck with the thought of introducing her to Jesse, surely the two would get along having come from the slice of the world.

"Why did you kill them?"

Kaella sighed, looking above her for a long moment, seeming to be collecting her thoughts. She then looked at Lokiv, who purred and rubbed himself on her side, she smiled wistfully and ran a hand through his fur which he leaned into appreciatively. Hanzo got the feeling they would be discussing the matter at hand for a while.

She turned her gaze back to him. "Well, y'see..." Her voice trailed off and she looked at the floor, looking unsure and terribly afraid suddenly. Then she sighed and the look was gone as soon as it had come. "It's a long ass story that I'd rather not get into."

Hanzo internally growled, he wanted to know, if nothing else to appease his curiosity, but he knew better than to push a being that could disappear without a trace and survive such horrific injuries.

So he opted for another question that had been pulling at his mind. "What do Lokiv and Okkin mean to you?"

She snapped her gaze up to him at this, eyes wide in surprise. She settled after a few moments. "They are the spirits of my soul, while yours are guardians of your family, Lokiv and Okkin are merely companions and representations of certain attributes of my mind. As I'm sure you've noticed Lokiv is the calmer of the two, he is wisdom, compassion, peace, and balance." She looked disdainfully at the floor for a moment before sipping her tea.

"And then there's Okkin, she is anger, jealousy, malice, and other such negative emotions." She finished the explanation, finishing the last of her tea and handing it to him for him to set on the nightstand. She waved her hand and an ashtray with a cigarette and lighter appeared, floating in the air. She set them down and lit her cigarette, inhaling deeply and looking at him with a sort of condescending look.

Bipolar as he remembered it seemed. "Smoking is bad for you."

She shrugged at his warning. "I'm immortal, the rules don't apply."

He had to concede that. "Did you get hurt because of the order I gave you at the hill top?"

She shrugged, taking a deep inhale from her cigarette. "Probably, I noticed I wasn't able to grasp the true extent of my powers. I suppose that could be it." She blew out the smoke in a huff.

She was so nonchalant about the situation even though her words cut into his soul like a knife. He recoiled as if physically struck, pursing his lips into a thin line he looked down in shame. Hanzo wondered for a moment why her being injured because of him bothered him so. He shrugged it off, deciding that it was best not to ponder on such momentary discrepancies.

"I see, I retract the order then. You are allowed to use your powers however you see fit." He murmured with a glance in her direction.

She sighed, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. A ripple of golden light washed over her and she cracked her neck before removing the bandages to reveal her wounds had completely healed. She stood, stretching her arms above her head, relaxing she shook her head and raised a hand to her hair. With a wave the loose locks wrapped themselves into a long french braid with a lovely red ribbon at the end.

Putting out her cigarette she looked over her clothes and scowled, flicking her gaze to him. "Mind steppin' out for a sec?"

Jolting out of his thoughts, he stood and took the mugs into the kitchenette to wash and replace them in the cabinets.

As he ran the cloth over his favorite mug he lost himself in his thoughts.

Kaella seemed very different from when he had first met her, she seemed grown, mature, a little more emotionally collected, though such a thing made no sense considering the many years she had spent alive. The woman had spent so much time away from him over the years he vaguely wondered if she had encountered anything to force her perspective to change. When he first met her she struck him as psychotic, her behavior and mood shifting at the drop of a hat, as it were. Now she seemed calm, sad even, Kaella seemed to ponder everything that could possibly be swarming in her mind before she even considered acting in any way.

Hanzo realized he had forgotten to ask about the dragon cult again. Scowling, he put the mug in its place in the cabinet and began cleaning the other.

He wanted to know more of his lineage, how the dragons came to be mystical beasts tattooed on him and his brother and locked away in their souls. Surely such powerful creatures could not have been so easily eradicated, and even if they had, what brought on the shift from physical to spiritual?

Hanzo sighed, reaching up to thumb the jewel on his chest. Not once had he taken it off all these years, the familiar weight an ever-present reminder that he had a companion even if they were not always in his immediate vicinity. He noted that this was the longest Kaella had graced him with her presence in a little over a decade, perhaps she was just as lonely as he? Or had she been tending to some business and only just now finished with it? He shook away the thoughts, he would ask her when she was finished getting dressed.

Just as he put away the last mug he turned and she was leaning on the threshold of the kitchenette, Lokiv winding around her boots. She was in her usual black riding breaches, only her top was a grey, form fitting long sleeve shirt; it had strategic holes along the sleeves in a design of some sort. As she reached down to murmur something to Lokiv he noted that the back of the shirt was a laser back.

After a moment Lokiv mewled and trotted away, turning the corner towards the bedroom he faded away with a flick of his tail. Hanzo shook his head, "one of the agents I work with met Lokiv."

She chuckled, glancing back to where the feline had disappeared. "Is that so? I musta' been in trouble if he showed himself to a stranger."

He nodded in understanding, suddenly remembering his questions from a moment ago. He turned to face her and leaned against the counter, his arms crossed. "Where have you been all this time?"

She shrugged, shoving her shoulder against the doorway to stand up straight. "My business, remember?" He sighed, coming to the conclusion that he should redact all of the previous orders as many no longer applied.

Before he could say anything on the matter she shot him a grave look that chilled his spine. "Hanzo, I plan to stick around for a while it's alright with you. I needa' lay low for a while."

He was rooted to the spot. Kaella? Stay with him? Here? His fellow agents had no knowledge of his... _Situation_ with the Akarai giving him an inquisitive stare, if she were to stay he would have to come up with a plausible excuse for her presence. He trusted his fellow agents to welcome her regardless of her origins, perhaps even be grateful for having such a powerful being among their ranks, but he was _loathe_ to divulge the nature of their partnership.

Hanzo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes, he knew he would let her stay, he didn't know why he was so keen on the idea but he had been acting in ways that made increasingly less and less sense when she was around him.

He would have to speak with Zenyatta about the matter at a later date.

"You may stay, give me a moment to get dressed and I will take you to Winston." With a small smile from Kaella that made his insides flutter for absolutely no reason, he convinced himself, he went to change into his Kyudo-gi.

"Of course you are welcome at Overwatch Miss...?" Winston trailed off, looking at the pair in front of him in question.

Hanzo had been silently hoping Winston would deny her entry among the ranks of Overwatch, even though he knew Winston would never turn away a soul willing to fight.

"Kaella, Kaella Shigenshi. I'm a cousin o' Hanzo and Genji." She offered the monkey a sweet smile, bowing deeply. Hanzo shot her a look, they had agreed she would claim to be an old friend, Genji had met Kaella long ago but had no knowledge of her return, so he would have to alert his brother to the plan concerning Kaella's presence.

"Well, well! This must be like a.. Family reunion then! Mister Shimada, would you mind showing our new member around? Ah, but first, what would you like your code name to be?" Winston questioned before turning back to Athena, who was entering the information on Kaella as she scanned the woman.

Kaella smiled devilishly. "Nightshade."

"Kaella?" Hanzo winced as Genji ran over from his place next to Zenyatta in the mess hall. It was dinner time and Hanzo decided it would be the best time to introduce her to the crew.

"Genji, they believe her to be our cousin." He informed his brother and He spun Kaella around in an overly-enthusiastic hug while she giggled and squealed like a giddy teenager.

Hanzo repressed the urge to growl at his brothers show of affection.

He turned to the agents who had stopped eating to stare at the trio standing by the entrance. Just as he was about to open his mouth he heard Winston's heavy hands on the floor behind him, he turned and the primate smiled warmly as he gestured for Kaella to stand next to him. Hanzo stepped to the side to allow his comrade to move between them.

"Everyone!" Winston's loud voice reached all corners of the mess hall. "Please welcome our newest agent Kaella Shigenshi! A.K.A Nightshade. Please give her a warm welcome, Kaella if you need anything please let us know." With that he fumbled off to eat.

Hanzo sighed and started to head in the same direction as Winston to get something to eat. He was in a foul mood and he wasn't entirely sure why, which infuriated him further.

Before he could take more than two steps Lena was in front of him, all bubbly and full of smiles as she greeted her new teammate. Kaella appeared to be enjoying the attention as more agents began to follow Lena's lead, getting up and coming over to greet the newbie. He carefully stepped around the younger woman, making a beeline for his dinner in hopes he would find some respite from the buzz of conversation surrounding Kaella.

"Hi there! I'm Lena! In the field they call me Tracer!"

"Hi! 'M Kaella. What's that on your chest?"

"Long story short, I zip through time! C'mon love! Come sit next to me!"

"O.. Kay.."

"Well, yer a purty lil' thing ain't ye?" Hanzo felt his pulse increase as a rush of protectiveness swelled over him when he heard McCree's drawl, he turned back from getting his food to see him leaning to invade Kaella's personal space while Lena frowned in challenge, and yet again, Hanzo had to suppress the urge to growl. He was doing that a lot lately. Why was he upset? Hadn't he wanted to introduce Kaella and McCree given how much the two had in common?

"Back off Jesse! I saw her first!" Lena huffed at the cowboy, hands on her hips and lower lip out in a pout.

"Oh my god! You're from the southern states aren'tcha!" If it were possible there would've been stars in her eyes like in the anime that Mei had shown Hanzo. Lena pouted, realizing she had no chance seeing Kaella take such an immediate liking to McCree.

McCree looked taken aback for a moment as she completely blew past his advance, but he shook it off with a chuckle and nodded. "Yes ma'am! Ye sound like a fellow cowgirl!"

She nodded enthusiastically. "I'm from Oklahoma!"

He slapped his knee, "yer kiddin' me! Well I suppose that counts as a southern state." He smirked and raised an eyebrow in challenge, clearly antagonizing her.

She huffed, folding her arms, prepared to fire back an insult.

Hanzo breathed a sigh of relief when Mei tentatively tugged on Kaella's arm, no one could resist Mei's innocent charm, which was how she had gotten him to agree to watching anime. The woman had the face of a child and was in a constant state of anxiety, despite her obvious fears, she was a force to be reckoned with on the battle field.

"H-hi! I'm-m Mei, w-would you mind s-sitting next to me?" The girl stuttered. hope clearly fluttering through her voice. Every time Mei spoke the others would quiet down in order to hear her.

Hanzo tensed as Kaella was silent for a long moment, simply staring at Mei who began to fidget under her gaze.

Then he relaxed as the taller woman squealed in delight. "Oh. My. GOD! You are so precious! Of course I'll sit with you!" Kaella looked as though she had entered into a protective motherly state of mind, quickly walking away from the cluster around her to appease Mei's curiosity and request.

Hanzo felt a stab of satisfaction watching Kaella follow Mei to get her plate of food out of the corner of his eye, leaving a shocked and annoyed Jesse to return to his seat.

A chuckled drew him from his silent watching as Genji sat across from him, Zenyatta coming to hover just above the bench next to his student. "You look smitten, brother."

Hanzo scowled at him, leaning away as though he'd been struck. "With what?" He asked though he already knew the answer.

Zenyatta hummed next to his pupil. "You know of whom he speaks." He calming omnic voice washed over Hanzo, only causing him great annoyance.

He grit his teeth, refusing to meet Zenyatta's gaze in favor of glaring at his brother. "I assure you, I am not _smitten_ with anyone. The onna and I have not been in contact in over a decade."

Genji shrugged, his cooling systems popping out to release small puffs of steam. "That does not mean you have not longed for her presence."

"Only to ease the discomfort our connection causes." He responded a little too quickly which made Zenyatta laugh. Hanzo growled, clenching his fist and sparing a glance across the tables to where the source of such discomfort sat.

Ganji turned to look over his shoulder at Kaella, who was surrounded by some of the younger members, all bubbling, questioning her about where she had come from, any special abilities she had, what Hanzo and his brother were like when they were young, the final question was asked in a quieter tone and a wary glance to the brothers.

Genji shook his head, chuckling lightly and turning his gaze back to his brother. "So brother, what do you suppose she will choose to be her special ability?"

Hanzo shook his head, grateful for the change of subject. "I do not know, but I pray it has nothing to do with the full extent of her power." Zenyatta, though clearly confused, did not push the brothers to answer his questions.

"Well I'll be damned! _The_ John Wayne?"

Hanzo grit his teeth, grumbling quietly as he was jostled in his seat.

It had been a few months since Kaella had first gone on a mission. After displaying her clearly more than ample ability to fight- more than once -Winston had decided she did not belong on the rookie missions, instead sending her on the tougher and more dangerous ones with the senior members.

"Yup! Got 'ta go back in time and meet the bastard himself! The man was _incredible_ on horse back!" She painted an image for Jesse with hand gestures to accentuate her story.

Now she was sitting next to Jesse on the shuttle, their mission was to take down a Talon base that had appeared not far from their own. The base threatened the safety of the nearby town as well as the discovery of the newly reformed Overwatch base, and could not go unchecked.

On the mission was himself, Kaella, Dr.- Mercy, Reinhardt, and Jesse McCree. It was Kaella's first senior mission and Hanzo needed to speak with her about going over the top.

"Onna." He called from his place, she looked up across from him, folding her arms and glaring daggers at him.

" _Nightshade_.. Actually, that's too long, just call me Kaella. Whadd'ya' want?" Jesse chuckled at her antics while Hanzo sighed at her unnerving ability to jump from one subject to the other. He gestured with his head for her to sit in the seat next to him and she pouted but bounced over.

He leaned closer to her and dropped his voice. "I hope you are aware that even in the situation we are about to enter you _cannot_ use the full extent of your powers."

Kaella shoved him, waving her hand in dismissal. "I know what I'm doin', Hanzo." With that, she went back to sit besides McCree, which irked him greatly. He made a mental note to speak to Zenyatta about his sudden irritations with the cowboy when they returned.

The shuttle came to an abrupt stop, signaling their arrival. Hanzo stood, along with the rest of the group, and waited patiently as the door shuttered open. He knocked an arrow into place and darted out, keeping up with the meager pace Reinhardt had set.

 _Benedicat mihi vacui sunt robore!_

Hanzo heard the words in a language he did not understand, he glanced beside him and found Kaella was no longer there.

His eyes darted around worriedly, he had warned her not to over do it, and now she was nowhere to be found. He growled internally and brushing his thumb over his arrow, he activated the scatter shot.

They reached the abandoned warehouse and Hanzo used Reinhardt's shoulder as a stepping stone to leap into the rafters, he aimed the scatter shot to where the Talon agents were streaming from the doors. He fired and the shot landed inside the doorway, scattering upon impact. He felt a small surge of satisfaction when he heard the cries of his arrows finding their mark.

He glanced down, firing an arrow through the head of an agent that had managed to creep up behind McCree. Just as his body hit the ground he saw Kaella dive over Jesse's head, she held two blades in either hand connected by a chain. The swords were _exceedingly_ strange, thick and jagged, they looked like white outlines surrounding a purple nebula, while the chain itself appeared to be made of diamond.

Kaella darted forward, jumping up and landing with one foot on the gun attempting to shoot her the other jammed in the holders throat, with a cry she lopped off his head and shoved off of his chest to flip backwards and land neatly on her feet. Hanzo's eyes widened when the blade absorbed the blood within seconds and she took a deep breath through her nose, a grin spreading on her face, she glanced back at him over her shoulder. He could've sworn her eye gleamed red.

The she was moving, Hanzo shot an enemy attempting to sneak up on Mercy. Kaella leaped up, spinning in a deadly whirl of blades she ended the lives of four more agents, and then she was out of his sight.

He briefly wondered where she learned to fight, he supposed it was from years of war and conflict- another arrow through the skull of an agent attempting to strangle McCree -but she behaved like an animal, craving the blood of her enemies on her hands.

He shook of his thoughts, now was not the time to be concerning himself with where a creature formed by _gods_ had learned to fight.

He dropped down from the rafters, landing easily and shot forward, grabbing an arrow from his quiver he drove it into the neck of an agent standing by the door. He moved into the next room, followed by Mercy and her Caduceus. He felt the healing wave wash over him, renewing his energy and he nodded his thanks before scaling the wall behind him to find another vantage point.

Kaella appeared again behind Reinhardt, whole laughed heartily as he swung his hammer while running forward, tossing several Talon agents to the side. Hanzo fired another scatter shot, dropping three more enemies and injuring several more.

Kaella darted forward, dodging bullets she cried out and threw her right sword at an attacker, it wrapped around him and she smirked. Yanking him to her Hanzo loosed another arrow that landed between the Talon agents eyes. Kaella turned and smirked at him, eyes gleaming with something he couldn't place but knew to be very _very_ sinister.

A gun shot rang out and landed squarely between Kaella's shoulder blades, with a wail of agony the woman slumped forward and the whole room seemed to pause. Mercy cried out as she saw the woman fall, Reinhardt turned for and for a moment, no shots were fired, even the Talon agents seemed to understand how grave the situation was. Killing an Akarai, Hanzo knew, was no small feat, and he supposed when one died all in the immediate vicinity would be very aware of what they had done. Yet, Hanzo had lifted her inability to use her full power, she should be fine by all accounts.

Hanzo sucked in a sharp breath, he felt the air crackle and spark with the intensity of power being released. Had the agent killed her?

No, he had only angered her. When she straightened Hanzo knew for certain that her eyes were gleaming a familiar red, it made him shiver looking into those intense orbs.

His eyes widened when the woman below him spoke.

" _Get out_."

Hanzo wasted no time, knowing the womans past and where her powers originated he dropped to the floor, putting his thumb and index finger in his mouth he whistled to get the attention of his comrades who snapped out of their stupor. He motioned for them to follow him and prayed they understood the gravity of the situation.

His prayers were answered as they all bolted from the building, he kept running though they had put at least fifty meters between them. He didn't know exactly what Kaella planned to do, but he knew if the level of power he had felt in the room was any indication, they needed to be far from where she was.

They all paused at the sound of an explosion, looking back Hanzo's eyes went wide and he stood in awe of the creature before him.

A dragon. A massive, _furious_ , physical dragon stood in the remains of the warehouse. It roared its fury and rose into the sky, black and powerful it turned, eyes gleaming red. It had a teal belly and a strange mark on its chest.

What drew his attention was the gleaming red coming from its maw. With a roar it unleashed the flames upon the building, cries of agony and screams of fear echoed through the night. Hanzo saw a shadow escaping from the burning building but he paid it no attention, no one deserved to die such a horrific death. They all stood awestruck as the dragon breathed another torrent of flames upon the building.

Seemingly satisfied with the destruction it had cause, the massive beast landed, rumbling with anger and contempt it curled its lip, curving its long neck to look back on the flames. It roared a cry of victory to the heavens, the sky rumbled and crackled with lightening in response to its call.

Hanzo felt panic rising in his throat as the beast turned its gaze upon them, he saw no recognition in its eyes, and he found himself rooted to the spot as it cried and began charging at them.

Mercy's whimper of fear spurred him into action, he remembered he always kept an arrow coated with nightshade in his quiver in case of such a situation in which he would need it, he knew the arrow alone would do no damage to the ancient creature but perhaps...

It was his only chance, knocking the arrow into place he aimed at the beast before him. He felt the familiar lurch and roil of the spirits within him as they awakened, eager to be released.

"Ryuu ga waga teki o kurau!" He cried firing, immediately his tattoo came to life with the spirits residing within him. They raced forward, spinning together as they focused on their target.

The physical dragon before them stopped, crying out in surprise it opened its maw and flames shot out to stop its enemies. It did no good of course, Hanzo's dragons reached their opponent. He watched as they coiled around the beast, who snarled and cried out when they seared its flesh and forced it into submission.

The moment was over as soon as it began, the spirits disappeared, returning to their slumber within Hanzo's soul. The physical dragon fell to the ground, crying out in agony and heaving to regain its breath. The head landed some feet from Hanzo, he jumped back, anticipating it to reach out and clamp its massive jaws around him, but no such thing happened; instead the mythical creature merely stared at him, the red gleam filled with hatred dying from its eyes as they slid closed.

A dark smog surrounded the beast, slowly becoming smaller and smaller until it finally dissipated to reveal Kaella's unconscious form. She had bullet wounds covering her body and her breathing was shallow as blood soaked the ground beneath her.

Hanzo was hesitant to go to her side, suspicious of the possibility she might be feigning her condition. What was _that_?

He felt a rush of wind as the good doctor ran forward, stooping beside Kaella she pressed her ear to the smaller woman's chest. Hanzo was about to tell her to get away from the unpredictable creature but Mercy spoke first, sitting up she gestured to Hanzo with urgency. "What must get her to the med bay on base! Immediately!"

Hanzo pressed his lips into a firm line. "Dr. Ziegler.. I do not know if that is-"

"I do not _care_ whether you think it is a good idea or not, I will not let this poor girl die!" She snapped, interrupting him.

Hanzo shut his mouth with an audible clack, before swinging his bow over his shoulder and hurrying to her side. He lifted Kaella into his arms and turned, rushing back to the shuttle with his dying companion in his arms and Angela's gleaming Caduceus keeping her barely alive.

 **A/N:**

 **AYYYYEEE**

 **So this chapter was quite a bit longer than I intended it to be because I got SUPER into it, I apologize. I struggled to cut it off here as it was.**

 **But anyways, there ya go. Kaella's a fuckin dragon now, but we'll touch on that next chapter -wink-**

 **Didn't mean to weird you out with that...**

 **THANK YOU FOR READING!**


	5. A Time For Truth

It wasn't until almost three weeks later that Kaella finally woke up.

Hanzo spent a good portion of his days in the med-bay, only returning to his room at the demands of Angela. He couldn't comprehend why he felt such a strong need to be near the young woman that had attempted to kill him and his fellow agents, but he couldn't shove the urge down any longer.

Despite Hanzo's assurances' to his commander, Jack had insisted on restraining Kaella to the bed, and when Hanzo had attempted to offer an explanation for Kaella's apparent transformation Jack had held up a hand to stop him.

"When she wakes up, we will discuss the matter. Until then, rest up and keep an eye on her. I want to be informed the second she wakes up."

While it was quite upsetting how long Kaella had been unconscious, it had presented him the opportunity to speak with Zenyatta about the questions plaguing his thoughts for the past few months.

The omnic had hummed with amusement when asked why Hanzo had felt surge a strong urge to be near Kaella. "I believe you already know the answer I will reply with, Hanzo."

He had grit his teeth in effort to keep the scowl from marring his features. Genji's master was infuriating at times, but Hanzo held him in the highest regards. "I am not _infatuated_ with the onna, perhaps this is another symptom of the bond we share?" He suggested pleadingly. Genji had explained the situation concerning the two to Zenyatta not long after Kaella joined Overwatch.

Zenyatta had thought for a moment, his gaze darting over to Genji when he snatched one of the floating balls from the ring surrounding him. If omnics could he was sure that Zenyatta would have rolled his eyes at his brothers antics.

Genji had informed Hanzo of his new relationship with Zenyatta when they had returned and Kaella had been settled in the med-bay. While the news shocked him, Hanzo did not resent their newfound happiness, despite his minor discomfort when watching the two together.

Zenyatta had turned to look back at Hanzo calmly. "Hanzo, I understand your frustrations and your unwillingness to accept the answers I provide you with; however, have you considered your distaste for Agent McCree and your irritability concerning young Miss Kaella could very well be answered if you simply looked within yourself?"

Hanzo mulled over the conversation several times after he had shook his head and excused himself to return to Kaella's side. He scoffed at the notion Zenyatta had presented, Kaella was an annoyance at best. There was no possible way he could have formed feelings for such a creature, she had tried to _kill_ him!

Still, she had somehow managed to pull him through several struggles. Hanzo remembered when Genji and he had been young, mere months after they first met, and though she often felt very far away she always seemed to show up when the two needed her most.

"Genji! Do not stray so far from my side, you know it is dangerous here!" Hanzo shouted as he ran around a corner to catch up to his brother.

"Come _on!_ That's boring as hell! Let's go check out the sea!" Genji cried out in response, scaling the side of a house and running across the roof tops in his swim trunks.

Hanzo growled, but couldn't help the small smile on his face. It was rare when the brothers were presented with an opportunity to simply be boys, they were on their way to spend the day at the beach, their father dismissing them, claiming there was no business to conduct that day.

As he made the leap from one rooftop to another Hanzo felt his adrenaline surge, it had been too long since he and Genji had a race.

Wasting no time, he adjusted the sword resting on the small of his back, and pushed his legs to move faster. Easily catching up to his brother, he smirked as he passed Genji while jumping across another space between houses, then landed with all the grace of a feline and moved faster.

He was surprised when his heard his brothers footsteps close behind him, Genji had been training more often than Hanzo had assumed, it seemed.

They reached the beach within minutes, Hanzo had dropped back at the last moment, feigning a stumble to allow Genji his victory. The younger Shimada cheered his victory, but quickly stopped to ensure his sibling was okay, Hanzo assured him he was fine and they enjoyed their day at the beach.

As the sun began to set Hanzo called Genji to head back to the Shimada castle.

"Awe! Do we have to?" His brother groaned in exasperation.

Hanzo nodded, assuring him that they would return when their father gave them another day of rest. Genji had cheered gleefully, a fist pumping into the sky as he hurried over to Hanzo's side.

The hairs on the back of Hanzo's neck stood on end and he drew his sword, but it was a moment too late. The sound of a single shot rang through the calm air, filling his chest with panic as Genji's eyes widened while his chest blossomed with blood, the acrid, sickening smell flooding Hanzo's senses.

Griting his teeth Hanzo turned and brought up his sword to deflect the next shot meant for him, he spotted the snipers location among the rocks and the next shot bounced off of his sword and buried itself between the snipers eyes.

Hanzo sheathed his sword and bent to hold his dying brother to his chest.

He felt tears pricking his eyes, he refused to believe Ganji would die. Looking around he knew Genji wouldn't make it until Hanzo was able to get back to Shimada castle.

It was desperate, and he didn't know if it would work, but he had to try. He threw his head back and shouted as loud as his lungs would allow him.

"KAELLA! Please! Hear me! Please help Genji!" He had never pleaded for anything in his life but he was willing to get on his hands and knees to beg her to save his brother.

"No need to scream, hot shot. Hold him still." Kaella was kneeling before him, looking over the groaning Genji with furrowed brows. Blood was soaking the sand at an alarming rate and Hanzo's breath came in terrified, ragged gasps.

She closed her eyes and placed her hands on her thighs. "Deorum vacui, hoc cura, ut det mihi fortitudinem contritum puer." Her eyes opened and she waved a single head over Genji's chest, the wound began knitting itself together almost immediately in response until it closed. Genji's breathing was calming slowly, though he was still deathly pale and cold/

Hanzo looked at the girl in front of him in wonder as she breathed out in a sigh, looking over her work she nodded and stood. "Take him home, he should rest for a few days to regain the blood her lost, but her will be okay."

Hanzo was speechless, all he could manage was a mumbled: "T-thank you..."

Kaella nodded before turning and walking away along the shoreline, Lokiv trotting to keep up with her.

Hanzo smiled wistfully at the memory, leaning back and closing his eyes in the chair he occupied next to Kaella's bed.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he opened his eyes to see Okkin standing before him.

Had she gotten bigger?

The wolf growled at him, edging closer to Kaella's side. Her shoulder blades rose to well above the edge of Kaella's bed, eyes gleaming with a sickly red she offered him a snarl and turned her head to sniff lightly at her masters restrains.

Hanzo sighed, relaxing only a little. "I suppose if you are here, that means she will wake soon."

They stayed like that for a while, Okkin moving to lay beside the bed. Hanzo was skeptical of the beast, she seemed to grow every time he saw her and she only appeared when her master was in a wounded state. He wondered what it could mean and he had yet another question to ask Kaella, so many had piled up with only cryptic answers to satisfy them.

Suddenly the monitors next to her bed began sounding an alarm and he jerked his head, looking to see her heart rate begin climbing to a normal pace. Hanzo looked at her face and saw her eyes begin to slowly blink open, Okkin disappeared within moments with a final growl of warning.

Hanzo sighed as her gaze landed on him. "You will not attempt to escape your restraints and you will no longer use your powers to their full extent unless I explicitly say you may."

Kaella huffed in response, looking away and coughing weakly. She groaned and stared at the ceiling, "even if I wanted to get away, I couldn't even if I tried. Once harmed by the holder of the kami no hoseki my powers will lie dormant until the holder allows me to use 'em again."

He nodded in understanding and looked up to see Jack Morrison and Angela Ziegler enter the room. Jack stood quietly with his arms folded, staring at Kaella while Angela fluttered about to check the womans vitals and ensure her stability. Once Angela confirmed that Kaella was stable enough to talk the older man sighed.

"You have a lot of explaining to do young lady."

Hanzo tensed as Kaella scoffed, leveling the older gentleman with a glare that put his own to shame. "First off, no more o' this 'young lady' bullshit. I'm older than any o' you vermin." She spat with venom dripping from her words.

Hanzo rubbed the bridge of his nose. Kaella had never shown any favor towards the commander, in fact she seemed to like him the least, but had respected his command. Now that her secret was about to be revealed it appeared she no longer felt the as she did for the past few months.

Jack was taken aback by her words, startling for a moment before furrowing his brow and setting his lips in a hard line. He opened his mouth to speak but Kaella cut him off.

"Second off, the basic run down of everything is I'm an immortal being who draws power from the void 'tween time and space." She smirked at the obvious confusion on Angela and Jack's faces.

Hanzo groaned, unable to tolerate her barbed tongue any longer. "Yes, but that is not all. The woman you see before you is an Akarai, a weapon of war created by gods long ago. Her kind has died out since then but she possesses unsurpassed power, which she displayed three weeks ago. She is tied to me through this:" He untucked the pendant on his neck for a moment to show the disbelieving pair in front of him.

He suddenly felt like a child that had stumbled onto his fathers weapons collection and nearly killed a dear family friend, all by accident.

"I can give her orders that she is soul bound to obey, she cannot go against an order that I have given her unless it is one that the pendant deems to be harmful. The incident at the Talon base was my fault, I had given her the ability to use her powers as she saw fit, now I seem what a mistake such a decision was.." He trailed off, looking down in shame.

Kaella apparently felt otherwise as she jutted her chin out, a smirk of victory on her face. They would fear her, and it seemed to be something she craved.

"Well, that is... Interesting, to say the least. How were you able to subdue her if she is so powerful?"

The next twenty minutes were spent with Hanzo explaining the nature of their connection and what it entailed. At times it seemed as though Angela and Jack did not believe a word of what he said, though Kaella's performance proved what he said to be true.

When he finished he turned to a smug looking Kaella, determined to finally attain the answers he sought. "Onna, I have been intending to ask you something for a while, and you must answer me honestly." She shot him a look of absolute terror. "What is Okkin? Why does she seem to grow every time I see her?"

The woman sighed, looking at the ceiling with a somber look, before turning to look at him again. "Okkin represents the part of my mind that is slippin'. With age, all Akarai fall to such a fate."

Hanzo sucked in a sharp breath at the implications, she continued regardless. "All Akarai are born- or made -with two animals as their guides. A massive lion, and a wolf. The lion is, as I told you before, wisdom, peace, balance and such. While the wolf is the exact opposite, the Akarai wove it into their traditions that every one of their kind would allow the spirits to roam freely beside them, in order to keep track of how balanced their mental stability was. I don't think I gotta tell you what hell it'd be if an Akarai lost their mind completely to the darkness and allow the wolf to take over." She shot him a grave look.

"Regardless o' how we tired to stop it, the Akarai would loose their minds with age. Being immortal comes with shitty consequences after all. As the elders of our race found their own harmony they were allowed to live, their lions stayed the same, the others, who did not, their lions shrank until they were mere house cat kits, at which point, they were killed." Kaella looked at her folded hands, her face a look of pure sorrow.

"I was part o' the group tasked with keepin' the elders in check. But as time marched on, fewer and fewer of our kind were left, the members responsible for such an awful duty began to loose themselves to the darkness.." She trailed off and Hanzo saw memories flash before her eyes.

"They... They completely lost themselves, started bein' skeptical of the elders, sayin' they had tricked our kind into trustin' them... They slaughtered _hundreds_.. The elders, the children, the men, the women.. _Everyone_.." He voice cracked and Hanzo saw her fists clench.

But she steeled herself, "They killed every member of our race, 'cept fer me. I was a prodigy of sorts, the leader of the task force was my ol' man and he had trained me since I was born. Five thousand years later my kind scattered, my papa swore to hunt down every living Akarai 'til there was none left, and then the world would be safe."

Realization sparked in Hanzo's mind and he snapped his gaze to Kaella's carefully trained features. "So.. When you appeared in my room that day, you had just.." He trailed off, throat clenching with emotion as she nodded.

The woman sucked in a deep breath, attempting to calm her shaking arms. Hanzo felt the strong urge to hold her hand, and he could no longer restrain himself. Kaella had had to kill everyone she had grown up with, her family, her father. It was no wonder Okkin had grown so strong, even after his own harrowing experience with Genji it had left him torn and in a state of pure agony, he couldn't imagine how Kaella could handle her own thoughts after having to commit such horrendous acts.

Kaella flinched when Hanzo gently took her hand in his, but she relaxed after a moment, clutching his hand tightly. She looked down at her lap, brows knitting in sadness and her lip quivering for a moment, but she shook her head and looked up to glare at the pair at the end of her bed. "I'm the last of my kind, and my mind's slippin'. Y'all are lucky that all did was torch a fuckin' warehouse, and that hot stuff here had the presence of mind to use nightshade. I can't refuse an order made by him, but that's my sense speakin', if Okkin wins, ye'd better have secret way of puttin' me down."

Hanzo did not like what the woman was implying.

Kaella was released from the med-bay days later after several assurances that Hanzo had given her the order to restrain herself. She was allowed to return to her room and Hanzo noticed she did not leave it for quite some time.

News of Kaella's story spread through the base like wildfire, though the story was jarring and concerning none of the agents seemed to fear her anymore than when they had seen her abilities in the field, before the incident.

A week after holing herself in her room Kaella emerged as Hanzo and a few of the younger agents were passing.

Mei nearly screeched with joy, rushing over to give the woman one of the tightest hugs Hanzo had ever seen. "Oh, Kaella-san! I am so happy you are alright! I feared we would not see you for quite some time!"

Kaella chuckled, returning the embrace and patting the other womans back. "Nah, I'll be around for a while yet." She pulled away, eyes gleaming. "In fact, I gotta surprise for y'all if yer willin' to trust me."

Mei's brows furrowed in confusion and she hazard a glance to Hanzo and the others. He sighed, shaking his head, why did she have to look for him for confirmation?

He gave a brief nod and her face lit up, practically bouncing in her place she nodded enthusiastically at Kaella.

Kaella beamed, smiling brightly she patted her on the shoulder. "Go round up the gang, anyone who wants to come with is welcome. Tell em' to bring swim suits and towels."

Hanzo watched as Mei, Lena, Hana and Lucio hurried to tell everyone, he waited until they were gone to turn his gaze back to Kaella. She was leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed, he noticed Lokiv winding himself around her boots, looking slightly smaller than the last time he had seen the feline.

"What do you have planned, onna?" He questioned suspiciously.

Kaella laughed and shook her head, turning to go back into her room. "Go get ready, Hanzo. Bring your brother by the way."

Everyone in the damn base had gathered in the common room in anticipation for Kaella's surprise, and by everyone, Hanzo meant everyone. Even the Fareeha and her mother were sitting in casual clothing next to one another with towels next to them.

Hanzo grit his teeth and felt a headache forming at the volume in which the chatter in the room had grown to. He had never enjoyed crowded rooms, or large groups of people, an attribute he feared would never change.

Every went silent and stared past him, he turned, and standing in the doorway beside Kaella was Okkin, lips drawn up in a threatening snarl and her shoulders rose to just beneath Kaella's.

"Y'all, meet Okkin. She's my wolf spirit, don't get yer panties in a wad though, she won't attack." Kaella explained calmly, Okkin seemed to understand her words and growled at her master, who just rolled her eyes.

"Okkin protects me when I'm down, she's a fiesty lil' fucker that's for damn sure. All Akarai's wolves are." She stepped forward, dismissing Okkin with a wave of her hand.

"Now, y'all ready to go?" She questioned with a grin, swinging her towel over her shoulder as though a ferocious beast hadn't been by her side moments ago.

"Miss Kaella, where is it we are going? I assume swimming somewhere?"

Kaella waved a hand at Winston's question. "That's the surprise, big fella'! Now, if y'all wouldn't mind holdin' onto each other, shoulders, hands, whatever; long as everyone's included." She stepped forward and took Hanzo and McCree's hand, the cowboy beamed, squeezing her hand and she smiled in return.

Hanzo could barely suppress the growl itching at his throat.

While the others were hesitant, they did as were told. Grasping each other tightly. Kaella's grin widened and her eyes glimmered with excitement. "Hold on!"

And then it was nebulae of blues and purples and pinks and every color imaginable, Hanzo gaped as he watched the clouds of color whizz by at an incredible rate, he heard similar gasps of shock from the others.

He looked at Kaella, who had her eyes closed and her head bowed in concentration. He watched her brow furrow and a bead of sweat slide down her temple, it must take a lot of strength to perform such a feat.

When the colors retreated far into the distance and he looked around, Hanzo realized that they were on a gorgeous beach. The waning sunlight gleamed gold and red on the waves making gentle hushing sounds as they lapped at the sand.

He looked around, the others were in a shocked stupor, Winston himself looked as though he was having trouble coming to terms with the world around him.

The shocked silence was broken by Lena's cheer of excitement, with a squeal of joy she threw her towel on the ground, flung her clothes to the side and zipped into the water.

This triggered cheers from the rest of the group as they raced over to the water, Hana challenged Lucio to a race into lovely waves, who looked slightly odd without his trademark skates. Fareeha and Ana moved to find a suitable place on the sand to watch the others run and play through the water. After a moment all that was left beside Kaella was himself, Winston and McCree- who Hanzo noticed hadn't let go of Kaella's hand.

Winston turned to look at Kaella in awe. "Where are we?"

She beamed at the monkey, "Hawaii, year 1774. We're a couple years 'fore the islands were found by a man called James Cook, not a whole lotta natives come to this particular beach 'cuz there's been sightin's of a witch here."

Hanzo sniffed. "I do not suppose that witch would be you?"

Kaella smirked in feign innocence, "I'm sure I ain't got the foggiest idea what yer talkin' about, hot shot."

Hanzo wasn't sure if the nick names infuriated him or if he found them endearing.

"Well I'll be a sun of gun! I was just talkin' 'bout how I needed a day at the beach! Thanks darlin'!" McCree placed a kiss on Kaella's cheek, the woman blushed and purred in amusement before watching the man run off, tossing his belongings onto the sand and diving into the glittering water.

Winston chuckled at the man-child's antics, before nodding his thanks to Kaella and moving off to join his friends.

Hanzo watched the monkey go and surveyed his teammates. Ana and Fareeha were laying on the sand in their bathing suits, laughing and talking with Jack and Angela. The four senior members would glance every so often to the larger group in the water, bursting into laughter when Hana completely toppled Lucio over into the water.

Lena was in a splash competition with Mei- who was extremely small, one could never tell what she looked like considering the warm clothes she wore constantly -Lucio, Hana, and Reinhardt, who seemed to be taking over a fatherly roll to make sure the younger ones were well taken care of. Just as Reinhardt sent an impressive wave into Lena with his forearm, booming with laughter, Torbjorn launched himself onto the man shoulders, demanding a chicken fight. McCree appeared beneath Lucio's shoulders, lifting him up and engaging Reinhardt and Torbjorn.

They were interrupted as Winston cannon balled into the water with a cry, Lena zipped over to the monkey, placing herself on his shoulders and declaring a three-way chicken fight.

Hanzo smiled, his teammates looked truly relaxed and happy, they hadn't had a moment to breathe, let alone enjoy a moment to play around in years. Something tugged at his heart, watching them enjoy themselves, while they were away, something could go wrong, someone could end up hurt, they could be attacked, there was any number of possibilities for things to go wrong. But at the moment, the world seemed to stand still to allow the Overwatch team a chance to relax.

"Hanzo? Can I talk with ya for a mo'?" He turned to see Kaella fidgeting, she had shed her usual outfit to be replaced with a lovely pink bikini, a stark contrast from her usual dark clothing. Her hair was down, wavy and curled from the amount of time it had been held up by the french braid. She looked timid almost, lips pressed into a firm line and a pink tint covering her cheeks to her ears.

Hanzo felt his heart skip a beat, she was adorable and beautiful rolled into one. "O-of course, what is it?"

She shifted even more, a hand on her hip and the other wringing the back of her neck. "I-I was wonderin'... D'ya... D'ya think McCree would wanna go on a date with me?"

Hanzo's breath caught in his throat. " _What?_ " The question came out much more vehemently than he'd intended.

She jumped at his tone, eyes widening in fear she began wringing her hands. "D-d'ya think Jesse would go on a date with me? I-I know it's a bit far fetched b-but I-"

Hanzo cut her off with a scowl. "Do as you wish." He then turned and stalked away, finding a suitable spot far enough away from the other where he could meditate, his mood suddenly turned sour.

He had been sitting for all of five minutes before he heard a familiar hum next to him. "I suppose Lady Kaella asked about Agent McCree."

Hanzo grunted in affirmative, opening his eyes to find Kaella timidly walking up to the cowboy, after a moment a grin spread across Jesse's face and he wrapped the woman in a tight embrace, she seemed stunned, but returned the show of affection with a broad smile.

He scowled at the display of affection, turning his eyes away to stare ahead of him.

"Hanzo, have you considered what you are feeling might be jealousy?" The omnic hazard, with a gentle touch to Hanzo's shoulder.

Hanzo grit his teeth. "That is impossible, I simply do not trust the gunslinger."

Zenyatta hummed, nodded slightly. "You trusted him well enough before Kaella came to us."

He growled, the damn omnic always had an argument for everything it seemed.

"Zen! Come on I gotta show you something!" Genji was calling his master while waving a seashell in the air.

Zenyatta, nodded, turning to join the younger Shimada, but not before casting a final glance at Hanzo. "Hanzo, please consider the possibility." with that, he floated over to an overly-enthusiastic Genji.

Hanzo took a deep breath and released it slowly, looking down at his clenched fists, perhaps he should consider it.

 **A/N:**

 **AAYYYYEEEE WHAT UP Y'ALL**

 **I apologize for not posting last night, got carried away on Overwatch, y'all know how it is.**

 **BTW if any of you were wondering about what Kaella said last chapter, since google translate will go all over the place, it's Latin.**

 **Last chapter she said "Gods of the void, grant me your strength."**

 **This chapter when she was healing Genji she said "Gods of the void, grant me your strength to heal this broken child"**

 **Aaaaannnd we're just kinda gonna follow that theme basically.**

 **I did not proof read this chapter, I am exhausted, so I apologize for any spelling errors.**


	6. Time To Go Home

"Where is your home?" Hanzo asked, not looking up from washing off his plate, cleaning up after enjoying a quiet dinner of home cooked ramen - none of that cheap imitative stuff, the kind from Hanzo's home land that always managed to fill him with a pleasant sense of nostalgia - with Kaella.

After arriving at the Watchpoint from the beach everyone expected to have to hop into action, evil doesn't rest after all, but after Athena reported no activity that the local authorities couldn't handle for the time being; so the Overwatch group returned to their rooms for some well deserved rest.

Kaella and Jesse had gone on a few dates, spending as much time with each other as humanly possible. Jack even placed them together when sent on missions, which he refused to do until Kaella had made a show of only being able to use her human abilities with only a dash of extra power. She had selected an interesting ability for her special ability, she called it "Soul Magic"

"Gives me the power ta' grab someone's soul and throw 'em around like a rag doll." She explained with a glint in her eye.

Winston didn't know what to make of her Southern slang. Hanzo wasn't sure if the scientist believed in the existence of souls to begin with, there was no concrete evidence of their presence after all. But after a few moments of contemplative silence the ape seem to decide that it was a good thing either way.

After their missions Kaella would bid Jesse a fond farewell and follow Hanzo back to his room, he didn't know why the infuriating woman refused to go to her own room, or even Jesse's for that matter, when asked she would merely smile and shrug innocently.

"Since 'm here might as well make the soul bond a lil' more bearable."

It infuriated Hanzo to no end, he already had a hard enough time not growling and snapping at the cowboy whenever he spoke to the Japanese man. Why did she have to insist on following Hanzo to _his_ room? Surely she should be following Jesse, they were in a relationship for kami's sake! It was highly unseemly for a taken woman to be sleeping in the same room as another man, it didn't matter if she was in the front room on the couch and he in his bed; Kaella's continued presence in his constant proximity was, simply put, wrong. Hanzo was all too willing to endure the near painful pulling on his chest if it meant he wouldn't have to interact with her, or her _cowboy._

Hanzo had to repress another growl of frustration at his train of thoughts.

Now, Kaella jerked her head up from her phone, eyeing the archer warily. "Whadda' ya mean?"

Hanzo sighed in exasperation, putting the plates up in the cabinet, surely she wasn't intending to play coy. He supposed it would be hard to pin-point exactly where Kaella had grown up as he had no idea to what age an Akarai was considered a child.

"Where did you grow up?"

Kaella bit her lip, furrowing her brows. "I guess it would be Oklahoma. Back when I was born it weren't nothin' but grass and tress. Horses and coyotes runnin' free all around..." Hanzo leaned on the doorway when she trailed off, she had a faraway look in her eyes and was chewing on her lower lip.

Oklahoma. Hanzo nearly snorted at the idea, truly a southern woman, all things considered.

She suddenly looked up, eyes full of fear. "Hanzo, I needa' show you somethin'..." She trailed off and he raised an eyebrow in question.

With a wave of her hand Okkin appeared, this time the she-wolf was much much larger, her shoulders were only a few feet away from the ceiling.

Hanzo felt the color drain from his face, if Okkin was this large it was not good news for Kaella's mental stability. Was there any way to counteract the steady downward spiral Kaella was falling into? He remembered her mentioning the mental stability in which the elders found peace, but how had they managed such a feat that seemed entirely possible for the remaining Akarai. "Onna, what does this mean?"

"It's bad that's for damn sure!" She snapped, eyeing the wolf in front of her warily, Okkin seemed to pick up on this and a gleam flared in the she-wolfs eyes. She turned to face Kaella, lips pulled back in a malicious grin.

Hanzo's brow furrowed in confusion, the wolf seemed like it was about to _attack_ Kaella. He knew that once she had enough strength, the wolf would take over Kaella's mind, but did that entail her actually fighting her master?

Kaella visibly tensed, the tendons in her neck popped out as she grit her teeth. "She's pickin' up on my state of unrest, if nothin' changes she ain't gonna hold off on takin' over much longer."

Hanzo pursed his lips, biting the inside of his cheek as he thought. "Will she physically attack you when she is ready to make an attempt on your mind?"

Kaella nodded stiffly.

"Will it be a true battle?- Not just in your mind?"

Another nod.

He sighed, eyeing the beast cautiously. "Does McCree know of the beasts progress?"

She shook her head. "I thought bein' with him would help! But seems like she's only growin' faster.. But that's not the point, Hanz, if she... If she takes over.. I.." She hesitated, looking down and drawing in a deep breath to steady herself. When she looked back up at him he saw the determination in her eyes.

"I want you to be the one to put me six feet under."

Hanzo's breath stuck in his throat, he knew he should be impervious to whatever demand the Akarai had, but he simply wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had to kill Kaella, they had grown close over the year she had been spending with him. Despite his irritation and constant avoidance of her presence whenever possible, he still felt that all too familiar pull to be close to her, and as such, - combined with her infuriating persistence to invade his personal space - they had developed a rather unique bond.

Hanzo thought for a moment over the past year. Kaella had begun meditating with him, Genji and Zenyatta in the mornings, but as time wore on Hanzo found himself craving to be less crowded during meditation, his brother and their shared past clouding his thoughts constantly drove him to frustration. So he and Kaella had quietly began meditating on the roof of his room in the mornings, her quiet presence easing his heart, filling him with peace and the stability he needed to sort out any issues plaguing his thoughts.

Kaella often encouraged him to delve into the darkened portions of his thoughts - gently, of course - guiding him through the necessary processes in order to, piece by piece, restore his shattered psyche. Hanzo found himself discovering an unprecedented amount of peace within his mind, able to confront the absolutely abhorrent actions of his past and whittling away at the issue until it dispelled into nothing; shattered like glass into glittering particles, floating away in the wind and washing into the ocean, never to be seen again.

He was unendingly grateful to his ever-present companion for her guidance. When she wanted to, Kaella would ease his mind with wisdom that rivaled even that of Zenyatta's, wisdom that he knew she struggled to consider herself. Zenyatta and she had disappeared on several occasion to attempt guided meditation for her warped mind, but every time, Okkin had appeared and snarled away the attempts. Leaving an awful pressure in his chest when they returned and he saw Kaella's dark expression, she would excuse herself for the day and hide away in her own room, only reappearing several days later when called to mission.

Seeing the Akarai in such a state of distress threw Hanzo into his own state of unease, worry for his companion clouding his thoughts and ushering agitated, quipped responses to his team that he would sigh at, and apologize for before excusing himself to calm down with a cup of tea.

Hanzo was not one to deny his feelings so vehemently on any usual matter, but the positively _confounding_ feelings plaguing him, that he shoved down with a force that shocked even him, could not be brought to light. Even if Kaella were not in a committed relationship with their mutual Southern friend, how could he not be sure these feelings were not just symptoms of the bond they shared? Would it matter if they weren't? Kaella was immortal after all, she would be forever frozen in a state of youth and he would grow old and wither away. He could not put her already broken psyche through such an agony, it was already close to snapping. Spiderweb cracks splintering her thoughts as though someone was _tap tap tapping_ away at it with a single nail.

Hanzo had a sudden thought, it might not help much, but Kaella had proven to him time and time again that even a milometer of progress could trigger leaps and bounds racing towards stability and safety. It would be a good start.

"Would you like to visit your homeland?" Hanzo inquired softly, his homeland would be of no comfort to him in such a situation. Kaella had agreed to the fact when he had spoken it during one of their early morning meditation sessions, too much pain was associated with the cherry blossom dotted land. Even thinking about it now, he shuddered at the memory of pink petals, stained with blood and sticking to his skin in a sickly way.

Kaella's eyes widened, and he shuttered when he saw the surge of disbelief and happiness flood her features. He felt a jolt of satisfaction that he quickly quashed at the knowledge that he was the cause for such elation. Okkin whipped her head back to look at Hanzo, hatred dripping from the guttural sound emanating from her throat.

Kaella stood, quickly dismissing her spirit, and walked over to Hanzo. Eyes bright and full of hope that had his chest twisting in an almost painful way. "D'ya really mean it? I'd love to see home again!"

Hanzo smiled despite himself, he nodded once and she squealed with glee, bouncing in place for a moment before flinging her arms around his neck in a loving hug.

He was shocked at the embrace, before he returned it wholeheartedly. Wrapping his arms around her slender waist Hanzo buried his nose into her loose black locks, she smelled like cigarettes and rain during a thunderstorm; petrichor, he decided the scent was. It was intoxicating and he didn't feel like pulling away. She seemed to share the sentiment as she merely squeezed him tighter, he felt her small frame exhale in a relaxed sigh, and when he opened his eyes he saw Lokiv sitting on the coffee table, purring lightly and looking on at the two with a glint in his green eye. Hanzo swore the feline took up more space than usual.

Kaella pulled back but refused to remove her arms from his neck and he his arms from the resting place on the small of her back. Hanzo couldn't discern _why_ for the life of him he wasn't able to control his actions as well as he had been, but it felt comfortable, and right to hold the small woman like this; leaning against the wall, her bright smile beaming up at him like the last half of the sun peaking over the ocean at the days end, warming his soul and washing over him in a pleasant hum.

Hanzo considered the brief thought of how utterly nonthreatening she looked, while she was vicious and merciless on the battle field- he had seen it to be true -she offered a kind and welcoming smile to anyone she met that did not pose a threat. She was as kind as could be to those her needed her protection, while challenging and teasing to those that could hold their own. Offering wisdom, and moments of calm reassurances to those seeking her advice. He repressed a chuckle, only Genji preferred his masters wisdom at this point, whereas before Kaella's arrival the other Overwatch agents sought out Zenyatta's wisdom for whatever it was ailing their minds. Genji did not intend any offense by doing so, he just had a closer bond to the eerily calm omnic than Kaella, and she did not seem bothered in the least by his preference.

Hanzo was struck with the incredible urge to kiss her, her eyes were half-lidded, full lips spread in a soft smile, her chest pressed against his in an achingly comforting way.

He could do it, and he was certain he did not give a damn whether he would regret it or she would reject him. But she was involved with the cowboy, and while Hanzo despised it, he would respect the relationship they had. He was nothing if not honorable.

Kaella giggled, pulling him from his thoughts and gently kissed his nose, before skipping off to pack a bag, telling him to go and tell Winston of their plans.

Hanzo shook his head, desperately trying to quell the enticing thoughts of chasing after her, pinning her against a wall and marking her as his own. Kaella needed him to be strong, needed him to be an unwavering pillar during her time of stress.

With a sigh, Hanzo pushed himself off the wall and exited the room to go and speak with the ape.

They were on a train. Why, out of all the possible transportation Kaella could have chosen, why did she choose a _train?_

Kaella's ability to phase through time and space was no secret, Hanzo himself having known of the Akarai's unique power before the others had. Kaella had indeed made no attempts at hiding the extent of her power to him. Transformation, time travel, miraculous healing abilities, space travel- not outer space- and soul magic, - whatever the hell that was - being a mere few of her abilities. Hanzo wasn't sure he had seen the full extent of her powers yet.

And yet, with all of these unearthly abilities, Kaella had insisted on taking the train.

Hanzo did not relish the idea of riding on a train, while a pleasant scenic route, the tight confines of the transport hindered his archery. Leaving him with only his hands as a means of defense, he had Storm Bow and its quiver carefully tucked away in an instrument case, of course. But the weapon would be rendered ineffective if the two ended up having to fight on the train, his skills were not so little as to be entirely useless with the bow in such a situation, but he preferred to not use it in close quarters.

"I wanna savor my ride back home, wanna be able to enjoy the sights. 'F I use my warp ability I'll be all tuckered out." Kaella explained as they boarded the train and heading towards their shared suite, apparently sensing his train of thought, snapping Hanzo's attention to her.

"How did-"

"Ye make the same face whenever Mei comes on a mission." She interrupted with a giggle.

It was true, Mei was terribly prone to awful bouts of altitude sickness, forcing them to take ground transportation when they could afford it, or heavily sedate the young woman during flight.

Hanzo did not appreciate delays when it came to a mission, often times stealing some of his fellow agents kills in order to finish the mission quickly and return to the Watchpoint so he might meditate, or speak to Kaella when she was not with him on such a mission, which was a very rare occurrence. Winston deemed it best to keep the pair together, Kaella herself proving to be an expert marksman with a bow she summoned from the dredges of the void; though Hanzo knew Winston was merely fearful of what could happen should Kaella loose control and he not be present to stop her.

He sniffed, stepping into their suite with Kaella. She had assured him she paid for the suite during their three day trip legally, but Hanzo was almost sure the funds had been summoned or created in the void.

As he set his bag down, and shrugged Stormbow's case from his shoulders, Hanzo thought about the sick tally system the member of Overwatch had.

It was a game to them, a perverse, cruel game. Each agent sent on a mission would count how many kills they accumulated, and at the end of each mission comparing numbers to see who had the most. Before Kaella joined their group, Hanzo would almost always achieve the highest number, his skills as an assassin vastly outweighed the majority of the others own skills, though it did not make them any less formidable in a battle. The only ones who seemed capable of beating his scores were Hana with her mech, Jack, and the cowboy himself.

Truly it was a sickening sport, one that brought them no pleasure other than to puff out their chests in pride and boast their superior skills. But, Hanzo decided that it was the only way to cope with being trained killers. Yes, they could tell themselves it was for the good of the world, that they were helping save innocent lives by ridding the Earth of such remorseless killers, but Hanzo often wondered how different they truly were. Of course, their motives were polar opposites, while Overwatch protected the lives of those uninvolved, Talon simply did not care. They merely sought to make money, and accumulate power.

Hanzo sighed, in the end, they were all murderers. And while he had learned to deal with the guilt of taking lives long ago, feeling nothing as his arrows pierced the skulls of his targets, cutting off any cries of alarm and watching the light fade from their eyes; he often wondered how the younger, innocent members coped. Lena, he could not understand no matter how many different ways he attempted to consider her bubbly, cheerful outlook. Her aptitude for remaining hopeful and happy through the worst situations - and she had seen many - reminded him of a kettle overflowing with boiling water.

He shook his head, dispersing the dark and morose thoughts. Hanzo looked at to see Kaella leaning against the window, elbows resting on the sill. He could see her eyes glinting with anticipation as Gibraltar quickly faded from view.

Hanzo pondered on the plight of the Akarai. Doomed to insanity, unless they somehow found this mythical harmony that he was sure only the omnics Zenyatta had spent most of his existence in the company of, had been able to achieve. He understood such a fate, immortal creatures with immeasurable power, doomed to walk the planet and watch the world destroy itself only to rebuild and begin anew countless times.

He considered Kaella exceptionally strong willed however, grasping onto Lokiv's presence whenever she could like a life line, despite having reached the state of mind in which she would've been slaughtered by her kind, and continuing to retain some semblance of sanity. Hanzo himself knew how difficult it was to turn against ones own kin, he hadn't even been able to properly finish the gruesome task of cutting down his brother, set to him by the elders of the clan, and yet, Kaella had managed to annihilate her entire kind. Perhaps she saw more clearly than Hanzo gave her credit for, she recognized her own madness, her own kin's insanity, a truly impressive feat that not many in her position would be able to achieve. Apparently being a trained killer from the moment she could walk left Kaella with little room for remorse when it came to her family's fate.

Hanzo felt his heart twist painfully in his chest at the thought, all his attention diverted to soothing the ache; strong willed or not, if nothing chained, Kaella would befall the same fate as hundreds before her.

"Yer starin'." He was jarred out of his thoughts - his carefully smoothed heart leaping at being shoved by the woman his thoughts had occupied moments ago.

On instinct, Hanzo grabbed her wrist as he fell back, spinning to pin her beneath him on the bed with her arms held tightly above her head.

Kaella's eyes went wide and he smirked, allowing the surge of enjoyment at the flustered blush spreading across her cheeks. She hissed at him, struggling as he chuckled at the adorable attempt. He knew if she truly wanted him away she would simply phase out of existence and reappear somewhere else, she was playing coy with him and he was powerless to deny himself the pleasure of indulging in the game of cat and mouse set before him.

Hanzo felt a surge of pure happiness and enjoyment. Toying with the slender woman beneath him, he was not afraid to admit he had grown rather fond of the deadly creature - though he would vehemently deny any further feelings, even to himself. Kaella's Southern drawl sounded like honey, sweet and endearing as it washed over him, lulling him into a defenseless, open state of being. He was the first one she turned to with her concerns, always curious about the things he enjoyed or whatever he was doing. Hanzo considered her clingy at first, often snapping at her to get out of the way or leave him alone, but with time, Kaella proved to be a wise companion, using remedies passed on through her kind to heal any ailments her friends had acquired, offering him advice when he needed it. She had even come to appreciate silence, preferring to read a novel or play a game while Hanzo went about his day.

Indeed, Kaella was a wonderful companion.

She stopped struggling, huffing and glaring at him with barely concealed contempt; though he did notice the flash of mirth in her eyes.

He felt something flutter in his stomach, heard the pounding of blood in his ears. On any normal day, Hanzo would chaulk it up to the rush before a battle; but there was no mercenaries before him. Just a girl, barely withholding a smile and obviously flirting with him in her unintentional way.

What was this feeling? Of course he knew, but he would never admit it. It had to be _something_ _else_... _Anything_ else...

After a moment Kaella's features drew into a serious frown, she sighed and nodded for Hanzo to sit next to her. Sensing a serious topic at hand, he deftly moved to the side, allowing her to sit up and twiddle her thumbs in her lap.

"I broke it off with Jesse.."

Hanzo balked at her confession, utter confusion invading his thoughts, as well as another sense that he desperately tried to beat into submission, but in-spite of his efforts, it pushed it's way to the surface, hope making his traitorous heart begin to race. "Why?" He whispered in disbelief.

Kaella drew her knees up to her chest, cradling them in her arms. "I... Don't get me wrong, I love Jesse. He's a comforting reminder of home and simpler times, but Okkin-" She cut herself off, biting her lip. "Okkin attacked him..."

Hanzo's brow furrowed. "Out with it, what happened?" He spat with more impatience than he'd intended.

Kaella's visible wince shot a pang of guilt straight to his heart. "We... Well, let's just say we were involved in certain _activities_.." She shot him a meaningful look that made Hanzo's blood boil, he had to bite his tongue to force down the scathing words on his lips. "And uh... Well in the heat o' it, I looked up and she was just standin' there, lookin' pissed as hell and when Jesse noticed and said somethin' about me needin' to wear a cross to ward off evil spirits she went _after him_." Kaella shook her head. "I ain't ever seen her so furious, she was ready to rip the damn cowboy to absolute _shreds_."

Hanzo felt no small amount of satisfaction, mentally noting to thank the wolf for her convenient inconvenience.

"I got rid o' her just before she could lay into him. But Jesse and I sat down for a long talk, we both agreed that while we work real well together, we weren't meant to _be_ together..." She trailed off, biting her lower lip and Hanzo got the sense that there was more to what had transpired than what she was telling him.

Hanzo's breath caught in his throat as a sudden thought came to him.

Could it be that they had decided such a fate because Kaella harbored feelings for him? He couldn't stop the train of thoughts following the question.

Could she... Could Kaella possibly? No no, it wasn't possible. He told himself firmly, their mutual fondness for each other was nothing more than that: fondness. They shared a bond through the Kami no Hoseki and that was all... But what if it was? What if Okkin had attacked McCree because the wolf spirit knew of where Kaella's true endearments lie? Hanzo was beyond believing undeserving of such a thing from her. Kaella had been there through every awful decision and heart wrenching event in his life, she had committed atrocities that rivaled his own; she had even made a point of telling Hanzo that she bore no ill will towards him for the cruelties he had been forced to commit.

But what if Kaella's feelings were mere symptoms of their shared bond? It would not surprise him. Hanzo had worried himself ragged over the possibilities of his own -albeit quelled- feelings being as such. Yet, she had told him before of the occasions in which she had killed the holder of the Kami no Hoseki after years of service to its holder. He would not be shocked if she had merely pushed through the feelings clouding her judgement to free herself from being bound to its holder.

Hanzo's brow furrowed further as he looked at the Akarai currently worrying her lower lip. He could not remember a time where he ever ordered her to restrain herself from taking the pendant from him, which begged a question he felt he desperately needed to know the answer to.

"Onna, why have you never attempted to take your necklace from me? I do not recall ever having given you an order to not do so."

Kaella jumped at his question, her expression contorting in sheer panic. "I..." She looked away, licking her lips, her breathing becoming uneven and he narrowed his eyes. Attempting and failing to calm the erratic beating of his heart. The pitter patter of rain on the metal train and dark, furious storm clouds darkening the day outside their window mirrored the rising battle within his heart.

Hanzo had stumbled on something he hadn't been meant to stumble upon, that much was clear from Kaella's reaction. It spurred on an excitement in his chest, finally he held something over the all powerful creature, an infallible beast that was suddenly looking like her life depended on a question he was not meant to ask. Kaella expression looked all too much like a fearful feline, cornered with no escape by a hungry wolf, and he found himself repressing a growl at finding himself a particularly _juicy_ bit of prey.

She was _scared_. And Hanzo found that he enjoyed the prospect of instilling such panic in the woman, a mine field that shuddered with every step he took, danger kicking his senses into high gear as he trod carefully. It thrilled him, pushed him to discover what was hidden away in the depths of her mind.

He always did enjoy the chase.

Kaella's eyes darted around in a desperation as she slowly lowered her feet to touch the floor. Hanzo withheld a growl as he tried to push down the strong, primal cries in his soul that recognized the erratic behavior of a prey animal searching for an escape, urging him to cage his prey in and force an answer from her.

Hanzo _had_ to get a grip on himself.

Hanzo sucked in a breath as he looked over her lithe figure, her hair free to fall where it may from it's usual braid. Clad in a form fitting black athletic tank top showed off her hourglass figure, fashionable red leggings with black geometric designs running along them except for where the mesh cut through the fabric along the side and around the backs of her calves, the thin clothing accentuated her curves, her ankle boots had been kicked off in favor of meandering around in soft black socks when they had entered the suite.

Lightening flickered angrily outside, washing the room briefly in white. The crash of another bolt brightened the room further, lighting Kaella's fearful features which had been difficult to read in the low lighting of the suite.

His breath hitched when she looked at him. How could he have not noticed those beautiful eyes before? Blue/grey iris' soothed his flailing heart, and at the same time drowned him in a sea of uncertainty. He had always known what color they were, but he had never allowed himself to look long enough to truly delve into their depths. They threatened to entrance him with their wide, panic induced gaze, he knew what he saw there. Kaella was silently begging him to let the question go unanswered, _pleading_ with him desperately to never speak of it again. It struck his heart with uncertainty.

He shouldn't be doing this, he should just apologize for broaching what was clearly a sensitive subject for her, and let it drop.

He could do that, Hanzo could just murmur a quick apology to her and excuse himself to shower and rid himself of the absolutely _sinful_ thoughts clouding his mind, making his eye lids fall halfway, and yet...

Thunder rolled as his gaze traveled to her neck, keen eyes picked up on the slight fluttering of her skin where her pulse seemed to increase just under her jawline, practically _begging_ him to lean in and sink his teeth into the soft flesh there. Hanzo could hear the soft mewls she would sing to him, praises rolling off her tongue at an unprecedented rate as he-

He shook himself, growling low in his throat. He could not fall to these thoughts now! Not after pushing them down for months, and yet, his efforts to quell his quickly rising heart rate slammed to a complete halt when her parted lips drew in a quick breath, the stench of fear feeding his predatory urges.

Hanzo could not fight the urges any longer, pride and fears be _damned_.

Kaella yelped as he swung himself on top of her gracefully, one hand easily holding her wrists above her head. Hanzo felt the thunder roll and shake the train with a great shudder, urging him on, spurring him into action. He had to know, he simply had to. There were no consequences that could have affected him if Kaella had simply taken the necklace in the night while he slept, despite his vigilance even when sleeping, Kaella had displayed that she was more than capable of making out like a bandit with the small treasure.

What was it that kept her tied to him?

Hanzo saw her look away, ducking her head and whimpering with her eyes shut. He saw the tell tale shudder in her outline and he all but snarled, "you will not use your powers to escape me!"

Kaella's eyes flew wide open and she looked at him fearfully, trembling. It was a low blow: using the Kami no Hoseki to force an answer from her. But Hanzo was tired of her always dancing around the truth, never giving him a straight answer, never satisfying his gnawing curiosity. Just this once he would corner her; just this once he would offer no escape, no hope of leading him on, no more games.

"Answer me, onna! Why did you not simply take the Kami no Koseki when you had the chance!" His voice was rising, making her squirm and whimper in attempts to free herself. Without her powers, she was hopeless to escape, he saw tears were streaming down her temples and cheeks now, the tugs to free her wrists were weak and shaky at best. Hanzo was stronger than her human form would allow her to be, she had no choice but answer. He felt his chest twist with the knowledge that whatever she was hiding was very _very_ important to her, something she desperately wanted to keep hidden. After she told him, he would apologize for forcing her to respond, he would make it up to her in any way she asked, hell he would give back the jewel if that's what it took for her to forgive him for this.

But he had to _know_.

"Answer me now!" He roared.

"Because I didn't want to leave you!"

He froze. " _What?_ "

She had stopped struggling, looking up at him with an expression of pure loss. "I didn't want to leave you! Hanzo I.." She looked away, squeezing her eyes shut. "I wanted to stay with you! I-I still do! I just.. I just never thought you'd accept me! Hanzo w-we.." She trailed off and he growled.

"Out with it!"

"Hanzo, you're my _mate!_ You're the one I'm meant to be with for life!" His stunned silence seemed to spur her on. "When you told me about the pull you felt whenever I was gone, I knew right then and there that you were my mate! T-the p-pull you felt isn't from the Kami no Hoseki! B-but I didn't want to force it on you b-because i-it's so rare for an Akarai to be mated with a h-human, a-and we could only be mated if you- if both of us wanted it! A-and I n-never thought you would s-so I j-just accepted it and t-tried to be w-with someone else, y-you don't even have to accept it now! I-I-I just-"

Hanzo cut off her stuttering, mindless, panicked rambling by crushing her lips with his own.

Kaella gasped, her lips were soft and supple and her mouth was so very _warm_ against his own as he explored the hot space with his tongue. Hanzo growled against her lips, a guttural, primitive sound that he was slightly ashamed of. She whimpered, sweet and submissive in response. His self control went flying out the window.

Hanzo rumbled, pulling her to rest fully on the bed. He would set her straight before he well and truly claimed her as his, the incredible, muscle-weakening feeling washing over his senses like waves of unadulterated relief reminding him of how fearful the soft, pliant creature beneath him was.

He pulled back, hodded eyes drinking in her panting form. Arms pinned above her head, pink dusting across her tear stained cheeks, lips red and puffy from the crushing kiss. Hanzo rumbled with the need to kiss the streaks away, and he did just that while muttering reassurances to her.

"Onna," a kiss on her cheek. "I have been battling my own-" Another kiss. "-feelings for you for some time." Another, this time on the other cheek, the saltiness he tasted making his chest clench painfully. He had caused that.

"If you will still have me, I do wish for you to be my mate. I have been burying my feelings in fear of rejection." He chuckled at the irony. "It seems we were both fools."

Kaella looked at him in stunned silence, eyes welling up with more tears that made him panic for a moment before he saw the slightest of nods.

That was all Hanzo needed.

With a snarl he was on her, releasing her wrists to dip into her neck. She mewled as he kissed the pale skin, it was softer than he had imagined countless times when he allowed himself to, late at night, only himself to keep him company and unable to banish the carnal desires crawling up his spine. Thinking back on it, he had not buried his desires very well.

Kaella positively _purred_ beneath him, leaning her head to give him better access to her neck. Hanzo inhaled her scent greedily, cigarettes and petrichor, with a tinge of salt that he was determined to erase.

Hanzo peppered her neck with kisses, moving up to nip at her ear lobe, eliciting a full-body shiver from her that went straight to his groin. "Mine." He growled low in her ear before moving his lips to brush once over her pulse, then sinking his teeth into the soft flesh there.

Kaella gasped, going limp beneath him. The dragons stirred beneath his skin, urging him to take his mate as his own, mark her for everyone to see - and hear - just who this woman belonged to.

"H-Hanzo?" Her voice was soft, shuddering. A quiet plea for his attention.

He hummed against her skin, content for the time being to hold her close to him and nuzzle her neck. Kaella sighed in happily, a feather light kiss brushed across his cheek and he couldn't help the breathy sigh that escaped him.

"As much as I'd love to do... _This_... Can we wait until we get home?"

Hanzo nearly groaned with frustration, he desperately wanted to ignore her request. But he was an honorable man, he could never force another being into something of this nature, and he had already forced enough from her this evening. Hanzo believed a woman never needed to explain herself for not wanting to indulge in such desires, sometimes it was fear, sometimes it was irrational thoughts connected to anxieties; whatever the reason, she needn't explain herself.

Despite his desires clouding his thoughts, Hanzo could feel the pull of exhaustion creeping up on him, so he pulled away and nodded.

Kaella beamed at him, leaning up to kiss his lips gently before wriggling away to prepare for sleep and change into clothes she could sleep in.

They went about their nightly routine as they did every night, only with far more contact. When they passed each other so he could shower after she finished, she stole a kiss. When he stepped out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth and caught her slipping into a pair of fuzzy, Christmas themed pants he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest briefly to kiss her head.

When they finished, they curled up in the bed together, her back pressed against his chest and her long, inky hair thrown over the top of her pillow to keep it from choking or strangling him in his sleep. With his nose pressed into the nape of her neck and an arm curled protectively around her stomach, her comforting scent lulled Hanzo into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 **A/N:**

 **AND SO IT BEGINS MUAHAHAHAHAHA**

 **I am so sorry I took so long to update this, writers block is a bitch. ;-;**

 **Also, I have an AO3 account! (Archive of Our Own) if you wanna check me out on there I'd greatly appreciate it! The only story on there currently is "Found In The Snow" Which I shall be updating shortly after this! Here's a link to my profile. /users/Bun_Bun_Kaella**

 **As always, thank you for reading! You are all amazing and I appreciate every single one of you! Thank you for your amazin'ness.**

 **P.S. I'm planning on ripping your fuckin' hearts out.**


End file.
